//------------------------------// // Ch.20 - Afterparty // Story: Little Lost Pikachu // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// Little Lost Pikachu - Chapter 20 - Afterparty Once Celestia lowered the sun, her sister promptly took her place, replacing the wandering clouds with a multitude of stars as the sky faded from its clear blue to a deep midnight. A small group was gathered, squinting their eyes in the limited light provided by the moon. The craters and eroding rocks scattered around the post-Tirek battlefield were barely visible for the average pony, but were easy enough to spot for the trained eyes of a battle-hardened pokemon. Litten and Ninetales were standing together, watching as Starlight peered off into the distance. Small sparks escaped from the mare’s horn as she powered a simple light spell. Anxiously tapping her hooves, she turned around and asked the two fire pokemon, “Are you guys sure they’ll be ok?” “For the third time, yes. They will be ok,” Ninetales muttered, rolling his eyes. “Nica is perfectly capable of handling herself.” Litten gave an annoyed huff. “So is Pikachu!” “Yea, sure. He’ll be fine too… with Nica there.” Puffing out his chest, Ninetales added, “She isn’t captain of the champ’s team for nothing.” “I know, I know,” Starlight responded. “I just can’t help but get nervous. It’s so dark outside and they’ve been gone for quite bit.” Glancing to the side, the mare spotted two figures slowly making their way to the group. With cautious steps, she sent a surge of power into her horn and illuminated the silhouettes, smiling when she spotted Nica with a slightly tired Pikachu in her grasp. “Nica!” Starlight and Ninetales simultaneously called as Litten rushed over to Pikachu. “Uh, are you okay?” the kitten asked, gently prodding him with his paw. At that, Pikachu jumped up with a nervous laugh, taking a moment to balance himself. “Of course.” Turning to Nica, he added, “So, now that warm ups are out of the way, should we start the main workout now?” Nica tilted her head to the side, giving her pre-evolution a confused glance. “What do you mean? We haven’t started our warm up yet.” Pikachu’s jaw hung open in disbelief. “What? That wasn’t even a warm up?” “Nope!” Nica called, oblivious to the pokemon’s struggles. “I just wanted to relax your muscles so you’d be ready for the real warm up. Besides, some light jogging never hurt anyone, right?” “R-right, hehe.” Following up, Ninetales walked closer and shut the electric pokemon’s mouth with a single tail, rolling his eyes at his dramatic display. “We’re barely getting started.” Leaning closer, he whispered, “So, are you sure you can handle it?” Standing tall, Pikachu stretched out his limbs, hopping from paw to paw in anticipation. “Of course I can! It’s gonna take a lot more than that to make me quit.” “Haha, looks like someone doesn’t want to disappoint his girlfriend,” the fox joked as Litten chuckled from beside him. Pikachu sighed, placing his head in his paws. “Oh no, not you too!” Ignoring the two’s teasing, he turned back to Nica and asked, “So… what first? Will we clash our ‘Iron Tail’s,’ or practice the use of our electricity?” Unable to hide his excitement, he clapped his forepaws together in joy, staring at the powerful Raichu with a spark in his eyes. “Maybe later. I was thinking about starting with a bit of weight lifting,” Nica responded, showing her teeth in a wide smile. She pointed at a nearby boulder. “Some good exercise to keep our little limbs strong.” Starlight looked at the boulder next at the little pokemon, narrowing her eyes. “A bit of weight lifting? Why do I get the feeling that you’ll exhaust yourself in the end?” Pikachu bit his lip before grabbing Nica’s forepaw, now staring at her with worry. “You… don’t plan to… you know...” Nica sighed, shaking her head. “And this is exactly why I tried to keep it a secret.” Turning to Starlight and Pikachu, she gave them both a reassuring smile. “Even if I will become a bit weaker in the end, I prefer it over making you sad and worried. I won’t train to an extreme, I promise.” “That’s all I needed to hear!” Pikachu shouted, releasing her paw. He looked at the pony-sized boulder and asked, “I hope you don’t expect me to lift that. I can cut it easily with ‘Iron Tail,’ but I’m pretty sure it’s far above what I can lift.” He rubbed his chin, thinking back to Twilight’s tests not long ago. His four paws managed to lift one hundred and twenty kilograms before giving up, but glancing at the stone before him, it wasn’t hard to tell that it was certainly much heavier than that. Starlight lit her horn, scanning the boulder. “Two hundred and five kilograms. Are you sure you want to lift it, Nica?” “Yes, but not alone.” Nica did a quick stretch before lying on her back, her four limbs raised and ready. She looked to the side and said, “I was hoping we could practice our teamwork before improving your techniques. Will you lift that boulder with me?” Without hesitation, he approached and turned to the side, pressing his back against the hard ground, copying Nica’s stance. While he found his perch to be somewhat uncomfortable, it was worth it when his right raised forepaw made contact with Nica’s left arm, causing a small blush to spread over his face. Being smaller than his partner, he raised his head and arched his back, trying to keep his limbs at the height of Nica’s paws. “Perfect,” Nica exclaimed before looking at the unicorn. “Starlight. Can you drop that boulder on us?” “Alright, and good luck!” Starlight said before charging her horn. A celeste aura coated the giant rock as it levitated into the air, its bottom somewhat flat. Pikachu looked at the hovering stone, now lying in its shadow. While he knew that his little paws were no match for such weight, he felt relieved knowing he wasn’t going to face it alone. He glanced at Nica and then at the stone, narrowing his eyes. The moment the blue aura of magic vanished, the boulder began its descent, dropping from two meters above them and smashing into their paws. He grit his teeth, struggling to hold in a yelp of surprise as his raised legs bent and trembled under the weight. A weak jolt of pain went through his four paws, yet he held the massive rock at bay. He looked to the side, noticing that Nica’s strong legs took most of the impact. Even under the crushing force, she kept a determined smile on her face, looking over at Pikachu to make sure he was handling okay. “Great job,” Nica praised, showing no signs of discomfort. “Now we’re going to do some weight lifting. We need to synchronize the lifting and lowering to be efficient. Can I count on you?” “Of course you can!” Pikachu shouted with a strained nod. He wasn’t going to hold the team back. “Okay, now lift,” Nica called as she pushed her legs against the stone, raising it one millimeter at a time. Pikachu grit his teeth, pressing his little limbs against the hard stone with a burst of energy. “Down,” Nica said as she lowered her legs, letting the boulder descend. Pikachu felt the massive weight press with full force as his limbs trembled. He stopped pressing a second too late, wasting some of his strength as he struggled to hold the boulder up without Nica’s support. “Lift,” Nica said, her legs raising the stone. Pikachu aided his partner, his muscles now at work. “Down.” The calls became shorter as the two began to work in sync. Pikachu lowered his legs, trying to match Nica. Her intention behind the exercise became clear. Up, down, up, down. Pikachu and Raichu kept raising and lowering the stone, their legs more synchronized with each heft. “Okay, now something harder,” Nica said with a beaming smile. “We will go one, two, three, and then push the stone upward.” Pikachu nodded, now focused even more on the challenge ahead. “One,” Nica said in haste. He lifted and lowered the stone, matching Nica’s movements. “Two,” He repeated his actions, lifting the boulder a little higher than before. Being smaller proved slightly problematic as he needed to stretch longer to keep his legs high enough and match his partner. “Three,” Pikachu grit his teeth, tensing his muscles while gathering all of his strength. “Push!” Nica commanded. Pikachu’s face turned a bright, cherry red as he pressed the boulder alongside Nica’s. The rock flew a meter upward from their combined effort. The pupils in his eyes dilated as the stone seemed to slow mid-air and came hurtling back at them, the force of gravity now on its side. It fell on them, yet Nica’s legs took most of the impact once again. “Great, again!” Pikachu felt beads of sweat dripping down his head and paws as he kept lifting and lowering the stone, using all his strength whenever pushing the boulder. Breath in, breathe out, he mentally chanted as he panted, trying to fill his lungs with the oxygen it desperately needed. Litten looked at Ninetales who was licking his fur, staring at him with pleading eyes. “What?” Ninetales mumbled before shaking his head. “You want us to lift weights together?” Litten nodded. Ninetales frowned and looked to the side. “No way. My paws are for agile combat, not for raising weights.” He tried to look away, only for Litten to press his paws against his fur, staring at him silently. He growled, yet the cat-pokemon didn’t look away nor relent. “I can’t believe I’m saying this… fine… but if I notice that you’re slacking, I’ll leave you trapped under the boulder. Got that?” “Deal!” Ninetales watched as Litten enthusiastically ran towards a clutter of stones, inspecting each one and trying to choose which one would suffice. Nica stopped raising the boulder, now keeping it in place as she turned to talk to Pikachu. “Alright. Time for another challenge. We’ll push this stone aside without using our forepaws.” Pikachu’s eyes became wide. How were they going to pull this off with only half of their lifting strength? Upon noticing that Nica withdrew her forepaws, he took her example. He grit his teeth as the weight suddenly pressed with even greater force, causing his feet to tremble uncontrollably. “One!” He pushed against the stone, raising his rear legs while his forepaws were pressed against the ground instead, used to gain as much leverage as possible. More drops of sweat fell down his forehead. “T-two…” He pushed again as the muscles in his rear legs started burning. At times like this he regretted not having fully evolved legs. “T-t-three…” The stuttering in Nica’s voice became sporadic. He closed one eye, his other eye now focused on Nica’s rear legs, which were trembling uncontrollably. It became clear that his partner did at least four-fifths of the work as drops of sweat started to cover her face as well. “P-push!” He closed his eyes as his face became red once more, putting all strength he could muster into his miniscule rear paws. The weight pushing down on him vanished as a loud crashing noise reached his ears a moment later, the ground trembling. With a pained breath, he pushed himself to a sitting position. He looked at Nica, who pointed behind him. Turning around, Pikachu gasped. The boulder lay nearly a meter behind them. He looked at his tired feet, and then at Nica’s rear legs. Their combined might proved enough to push two hundred kilograms a meter over their heads. “Not bad. Our moves became more synchronized with practice,” Nica praised, dusting herself off before standing. Pikachu felt his partner’s forepaw on his shoulder and he couldn’t help but feel satisfaction from their teamwork. Nica withdrew her forepaw and stretched her rear legs. “Our warm up is not over yet though. Starlight, bring in the rope.” “On it,” Starlight said as she opened her saddlebag, levitating out a rope and than another. “I was actually wondering why you wanted me to pack these. Now I’ll finally get to find out.” Pikachu looked at Nica with growing excitement. He expected to have fun during their training, and so far, he wasn’t disappointed. Step after step, Pikachu looked at the rope wrapped tight around his right forepaw and right rear paw, or rather the other limbs that they tied together. The fact that Nica on his right was bigger than him and taking longer leaps, made synchronizing their steps a bit problematic. He didn’t let it hold him back though, adapting to his partner’s running as Nica in turn tried to take smaller jumps to make the trek easier for him. Nica shouted, her neck now void of the translating collar. Pikachu followed her command, leaping to the left alongside his partner and evading Starlight’s beam of destruction. While problematic at first, he quickly learned how to match Nica’s movements. The most troublesome part however proved to be when his partner ran at full speed, which was at least fifty percent faster than his top speed, resulting in him being dragged along. He had to admit though, running at Nica’s speed without using his ‘Quick Attack’ for a speed boost was an interesting experience. Nica commanded, executing each move with perfect precision. Pikachu leaped right and then forward, quickly standing on his rear legs before backflipping, evading a barrage of beams. The moment his and Nica’s rear legs hit the rocky ground with a weak thud, he smiled in satisfaction. “I must say, your agility is spot on. I think I’m improving my evasion bit by bit simply by trying to keep up with you.” Nica blushed before signaling Starlight to pause in her attacks. She lowered herself to four paws, forcing Pikachu to do the same. Pikachu nodded before giving the unicorn a sassy smile. "Starlight! Better use your strongest barrier!" He stomped with his left forepaw and narrowed his eyes. "Because we're breaking it for sure!" “Good luck with that,” Starlight said before trapping herself in a crystal barrier made of magic, the same one she used to stop Twilight’s assault. “This barrier is way more durable than your average protective bubble, and it can return the force used against it with a powerful explosion. It will take more than one or two pokemon attacks to break this shield. Do your worst.” As his partner ran ahead, Pikachu followed suit, trying to match Nica’s steps with the ropes tying their limbs together. It didn’t take long before her speed surpassed his, making her paws take faster and longer steps for him. Nica repeated her name, charging an attack. Pikachu blinked in confusion as aura of electricity started to surround them both. Volt Tackle? he thought, only to feel Nica’s cheek press up against his. He closed his eyes upon feeling her electricity charge his body, powering it up. His legs suddenly became faster, allowing him to match Nica’s speed. Nica called, their tails flapping violently behind them. Pikachu narrowed his eyes, concentrating a large burst of his power in his rear legs before boosting his speed. A cloud of dust and stone fragments formed behind them as their speed doubled in an instant. He gasped as their speed just kept steadily increasing, already way above the speed of his usual ‘Quick Attack’ as they circled around Starlight. Curious, Pikachu focused on his own electricity, sending it through Nica’s cheek as the aura of her ‘Volt Tackle’ grew in strength. He smiled widely, feeling a big rush of adrenaline. They continued to sprint forward, Pikachu’s raw power charging an unstoppable ‘Volt Tackle’ as Nica’s unlimited stamina resupplied his weakening reserves. Even still, Starlight held strong, taking a defensive stance. They both turned towards Starlight, closing the distance in an instant before slaming themselves into the crystalic barrier with the combined power of a boosted ‘Volt Tackle’ and speed of boosted ‘Quick Attack.’ The shield struggled, attempting to push them back, but it wasn’t long before it shattered into pieces, a massive explosion of electricity following. Pikachu pressed his legs into the rocky ground, as did Nica, both struggling to come to a full stop. A large cloud of dust erupted from the ground, forcing both pokemon to wave away the grime as they searched for Starlight. Turning around together with his partner, Pikachu bit his bottom lip, now staring at the scorched, unconscious pony who lay still at the bottom of a giant crater. While the lack of sunlight limited their visibility, he could’ve sworn a little trail of smoke was escaping from the unicorn’s fur as embers danced around her unmoving form. “I’m sorry!” Nica shouted before running towards the unconscious pony. “Oh no, Starlight are you okay? Please answer!” Pikachu yelped, pulled against his will as the Raichu frantically ran towards the mare. After ensuring that Starlight’s life wasn’t in any danger and escorting her to the castle, which mostly involved Nica and Ninetales carrying her all the way, the group returned to the post-Tirek battlefield. Pikachu looked at the fire duo, who started training with each other quite intensively as their flames lit the surrounding area. “Come on, Litten, is this all the speed you can muster? You’re faster than that,” Ninetales complained while taking tiny backward leaps, evading Litten’s numerous scratches and flaming bites from sinking into his limbs. Pikachu gasped as Ninetales’ tails spread, sending energy into the sky as small sun-like orb started floating over their heads, lighting the area. While the tiny artificial sun was nothing when compared to the real deal, it proved strong enough to give the group full visibility, as well as increase intensity of Litten’s flames. “Do what I taught you!” Ninetales commanded. Taking a deep breath, Litten inhaled, only to send a burst of flames against his opponent, creating a little vortex around Ninetales. “You learned ‘Flamethrower’ already? Wow, nice job!” Pikachu praised, remembering how long it took for Litten to learn the last move. Ninetales walked out from the vortex of fire with only a few, little burns decorating his normally spotless golden fur. His flame-proof translating collar decorated his neck, unscathed. “It is a lot easier to learn a move when it is properly demonstrated. Litten may be inexperienced but he has some potential, all he needed were some pointers.” Litten grinned. “You think I have potential? It is unusual to hear praise from you,” he commented, flapping his tail. “Did I say you have potential?” Ninetales asked before raising his head arrogantly. “What I meant to say was that I have potential at tutoring. Feel free to call me ‘Master Ninetales’ from now on.” Litten rolled his eyes, yet was still smiling. “Whatever you say.” Pikachu giggled before looking at Nica, or rather at her oddly positioned tail. The black flexible part, which increased its reach, was wrapped around Nica’s belly, leaving only the yellow part very close to her back. In fact, it seemed as if… “Nica… are you trying to make your tail look like mine?” Even though Nica’s tail had a heart-shaped tip, it was the intention that mattered in the end. Nica explained as she tested movements of her ‘new’ tail. First she swung it up and down, then left and right, finding each strike swift and responsive while resisting the urge to stretch it out to its full length. Standing on the tip of her rear foot before spinning her entire body, she leapt from one rear leg to another while using the movement of her own body to swing her ‘Iron Tail.’ Pikachu held a forepaw to his chest and displayed a dreamy smile, experiencing a pleasant warmth inside his chest. The fact that this superior Raichu was imitating his inferior fighting style just for tail fencing was already touching, but knowing how much Nica adored using her long tail, only to give up on it for the sake of their training made it even more meaningful. Part of him wanted to use poison joke to temporarily become a Raichu to return the gesture, but the risk of becoming a Pichu again was just too great. Charging power into his tail, he leapt forward, spinning his body as his ‘Iron Tail’ clashed with Nica’s. They both pressed against each other, neither giving in with their relentless attacks, jumping and twisting as Nica lost ground with each clash. Pressing his advantage, he pushed Nica’s tail aside, shaking her balance while going for her cheek. The Raichu tilted her head backward, evading the attack just in the nick of time. He continued his combo with another strike, only for his opponent to jump over, swinging her tail against the back of his head. He ducked in response, evading the short-range attack. I don’t care if this is just training. This is so much fun! If this is one of the last interactions I will have with this lovely Raichu, I am going to enjoy it and prove myself. He shook his head before parrying three, quick tail strikes in a row. A clash of metal echoed throughout the terrain and he couldn’t help but grin as he noticed Nica’s cheerful smile with each hit. Actually, screw proving myself. Not against this Raichu. I’m just going to focus on enjoying myself. In the background of the chu’s training, Ninetales stood tall over Litten, pressing him into the ground with his forepaws. A cocky smirk sat on the fox's face. “And here we go again. It seems speed and grace is not your thing,” Ninetales taunted, maintaining his dominating position. “Yu dun say…” Litten mumbled as a pawful of dirt was stuffed into his face. “Maybe a more fierce and relentless fighting style will suit you better,” Ninetales whispered to himself before withdrawing his weight and leaping back, allowing his smaller foe to stand. He narrowed his eyes and shouted, “Come on, Slowpoke. Stand up and fight.” Shaking his head, the fox turned his back on the cat and muttered, “I can’t believe I’m wasting my time on a rookie as pathetic as you.” Litten shook the dirt from his face and growled, the fur on his back spiking up as it erupted with a plume of fire. Ninetales chuckled. This is too easy. “Come on you weakling. You’re years behind Pikachu and months behind Lycanroc, and if you don’t get your head in the game, you don’t stand a chance of catching up with them,” Ninetales taunted, his gaze displaying a mix of disappointment and anger. He leaped to the side, evading ‘Flamethrower’ while not taking his eyes from his opponent, the ‘Drought' effect still flashing above their heads. “Is that all? The gap in speed and power between us is insane. Try all you like, you won’t cross it!” Litten jumped forward, opening his mouth as an eruption of flames leapt forwards. ‘Fire Fang’ after ‘Fire Fang’ was used to keep up the pressure, though not a single one landed. Ninetales danced between his opponents bites, giving him a confident grin. “I’m getting sleepy here. Are you trying to prove to me that I’m wrong about you? If so, you’re screwing up!” Litten’s attack speed increased as the rocky terrain started melting from his boosted ‘Flamethrower.’ The attack ‘Scratch’ directed against the larger pokemon now looked more like a ‘Slash.’   Ninetales’ pace increased in speed as he was actually forced to put some effort into evading Litten’s attacks. With a quick jump, he pressed his forepaws against Litten’s head, pressing him into the ground. “And you’re eating dirt again. Are you just going to let me do this? Or will you actually do something about it?” He lowered his head and whispered into Litten’s ear. “I would even dare to say that you’re as incompetent and as inconsequential as that lazy Rowlet…” To his satisfaction, Litten pressed forepaws into the ground and pushed himself forward, freeing himself and almost causing Ninetales to lose his balance. Litten cut off Ninetales’ escape with a quick ‘Flamethrower,’ only to jump and sink his ‘Fire Fang’ into his thin forepaw. His eyes narrowed in frustration as a furious growl escaped his mouth. Ninetales grit his teeth before giving Litten a proud smile. “Yes… a fierce and relentless fighting style suits you way better. Not bad.” Litten withdrew his fangs, taking a few deep breaths of air as a few drops of sweat fell down his forehead. “You… You taunted me… on purpose?” His angered expression softened. “All those lies,” he mumbled, “just to motivate me?” “Did I?” Ninetales said before looking to the side. He added in a joking tone, “I am quite an honest fellow.” Litten approached before gently licking the injury on Ninetales’ forepaw, causing him to blush. “H-hey… s-stop that...” Ninetales said, withdrawing his forepaw. “You need to remain furious at me, motivated to work hard and improve by trying to surpass me. You don’t get all buddy-buddy with a threatening rival or harsh mentor. You are doing it wrong!” Litten held his forepaw on his mouth and giggled. “Too late for that. You try to act all mean and tough, but I can see your softer spot. You remind me of an old big friend of mine I took care off. You big softy.” “S-softy? I’m not soft…” Ninetales mumbled as his face turned a bright red, the temperature of his body raising with each passing second. “I think someone needs to teach you a lesson, squirt. Say it again and see what happen!” “Sure softy,” Litten said, smirking. Ninetales narrowed his eyes and growled, unleashing scalding flames from his mouth. He turned his head quickly, purposely missing his attack, while Litten yelped and leaped to the side. “There is still tons of work to get done, rookie. Better get ready for some solid pain in your muscles, because I am going to train you hard and I won’t go easy anymore.” Litten nodded energetically before taking a fighting stance before both pokemon ended up enveloped in a fierce battle. While he could tell that the taller pokemon still held back, there was barely any room for him to catch a breath. Until now the superior fighter didn’t fight back and allowed him to be on the offense, though a burn he received on his side told him it was no longer the case. He winced from the pain before putting on a determined face, “That’s what I was hoping for.”