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"Hyah!" My yell comes out crisp and clear as I swing my arm at the practice dummy. The training brace attached to my arm rattles with a loud CRACK as I smack wood against wood, imitating the movements of the gallant knights I watch in the kingdom. With a swivel, I set myself up for another attack and charge forth! However, I seem to misjudge the distance I was from a nearby rock and trip over it, hurling myself over the fence of my backyard. My attempts to stop my fall down the steep hill ate all in vain as I tumbled and rolled. Thankfully, something soft happened to stop my fall.
"What the shit?" I hear a growl from my savior. As I open my eyes, I find that I'm laying atop of a collapsed houndoom with a fairly agitated expression. Just as I prepare to apologize, his gaze softens when he cuts his murderous amber eyes at me. "Oh. It's a kirlia. Are you okay?"
Quickly, I rise to my feet and brush myself off before bowing. "Ohmygosh, I'm so sorry! I-I'm fine!" The fire type grunts as he rises to his own four paws. I notice that he's covered in scratches and bruises and his breath is a little ragged. Certainly that hadn't all come from me, had it?
"Good." He winces as he applies pressure onto a front paw before quickly picking it back up. "That seemed like a nasty trip you took. Would you like for me to escort you back home?"
"Oh no! No! No! I couldn't ask much more from you, sir!" My eyes cut at his paw for a moment before resuming eye contact. Clearly, he catches this as he shakes the limp paw with a chuckle.
"Well then think of it as paying me back for aggravating my injuries." He says with a chuckle. Well, I guess that's fair. Brother always says that a knight should repay their debts. I think he senses my approval and nods. "Got any oran berries in your house?"
"Of course, sir! We have more than just oran berries. Sitrus, Kelpy, Mago. You name it, we have it! Follow me!" I give him a curtsy and lead the way up the path to my family home.
"Uh, you do know Kelpy doesn't- Ah, nevermind." The hound shakes his head as he limps beside me. He keeps up rather well despite being crippled. "You can drop the 'sir', by the way. My name's Scoria, you?"
"Aisha! It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Scoria!" I turn to smile at him, but can't help but flich to see him scowling at me. I mean, his face has been fierce even after softening after I fell on him, but it's rather frightening to see him staring at me so closely. "S-So, um, what happened to you? If you don't mind me asking, Si-Scoria!"
"Hmm." He hums to himself, as he thinks. Although it sounds a lot like a rumbling growl if I'm to be frank. "I got into a scrap with some dumb fox in a dungeon. If you think I look bad, you should see the other guy. He was puking his guts out on the cave floor!" He cackles for a moment, which sounds distressingly sinister. At this point, we've reached my home and he stops to stare up at it. "This mansion is your home?"
"Of course!" I beckon him forward and slip through the front door. I slip off my training blades and place them by the door as we come inside. "My family are well known knights who serve the royal family. Naturally, we're treated pretty well." I can hardly contain my giggle as he looks around the foyer with awe, his jaw practically dragging across the floor. "Come! I will show you to our kitchen so we may treat your injuries."
Once we arrive in my kitchen, I hustle to the cabinets as I scour the shelves for berries. "No. No. Ah, um, no. This won't do." Every berry I manage to find, while tasty, aren't particularly useful for quickly healing battle scars. Perhaps Brother moved them to a higher shelf? Rather silly of him, how would I reach them after my own training? My confusion comes out with a contemplative hum, which seems to pique Scoria's interest.
"Need help?" He points his nose at the higher shelf with a basket full of colorfully arranged berries. "If you're having trouble reaching, you can crawl on top of my back." I'm shocked at his proposal and quickly shake my head.
"Oh heavens no! I could never!"
"Any brighter ideas?" He looks at me with stern, yet gentle eyes. "It's for my own benefit anyway." He lowers his head down, offering his back to me. I suppose he has a point. My own psychic abilities aren't honed enough to grab it that way, so physical effort it is! Using his horns for support, I climb onto Scoria's shoulders and straddle his back. Once I'm seated, he warms me to hold on and rises back to standing tall. He's surprisingly strong considering he's only balancing on three paws.
"Ah, this is perfect!" With ease, I can reach up and grab the basket full of berries off the top shelf and bring it down, placing it onto the floor beside us.
"Good job, Aisha!" Praise? Oh, I didn't take him for the type to do so. How very pleasant! Without skipping a beat, he bends over and grabs a wiki berry and gulps it down in only a few bites.
"Ah? Um, Sir Scoria? Do you not wish to let me down first?"
"Eh?" He turns to look at me from the corner of his eye as he licks what juice he can from his fangs. "I figured you'd enjoy the ride for a bit longer. If you wish to get down though…"
"That's quite alright!" I blurt out without even thinking. He seems shocked at first, but his expression relaxes into the closest semblance of a content smile I assume he can muster. "S-Sorry. This is… fun." He just nods and continues eating. I can feel his muscles flex as the strength fills his form. I hadn't even noticed he was sagging until he slowly managed to stand even straighter, elevating me even higher.
"Thanks, Aisha." He says with a yawn. "I feel much better. I should find my crew. Would you like a ride around town while I search for them? It's been a while since I've been able to give a fellow pokemon a lift. Reminds me of home."
"Oh? If it's okay with you…"
"What an enthusiastic response." He says with a roll of his eyes.
"Yes! Let us ride around town! Please?" His cackle shakes me causing me to reflexively grab his horns to maintain balance.
"That's more like it!" He leans down into a playful position I often see the younger canines in town do. "Hold on tight, kid." Without much else of a warning, he zips out of my kitchen, effortlessly darts around the tables and ornaments before leaving out the front door with a leap. He hits the ground running and speeds off the mansion grounds and down the hill right into town.
Wind billows against my face at speeds I never would have imagined as I watch the usual sights and pokemon fly by. I'll admit, the constant bouncing against his back was mildly uncomfortable, but the speed and cooperation between another pokemon was quite exhilarating!
Before long, we skid to a halt before a duo of pokemon I'm not sure I had ever seen before resting in front of the town's fountain. One seems to be a gaseous being with eyes and a wicked smile that floats around in its ghastly darkness. Actually, I think that's what it is! A gastly! The other reminds me a lot of the paintings of flygon I would see, however the color seems drained from his body as he is a monochrome grey.
"Ash. Sulfur." The houndoom nods to the two of them who seem rather pleased to see him.
"Scoria!" The gastly cheers as he floats around us with a snicker. "Done throwing your temper tantrum? Kekeke."
"You didn't kidnap a child, did you?" The, um, flygon-like creature says with a worried scowl.
"I came of my own volition!" I couldn't let Scoria take the blame for something that I agreed to. As Brother says, knights must always take responsibility for their actions!
"Oh? So you two are playing?" I nod at the flygon who's scowl shifts into a bright smile. "Aw, I didn't know you were so good with kids."
"Told ya so, kek." The gastly floats back into view. "So what's your name kid? I'm Sulfur, this is Ash."
"Aisha! I'm an up and coming knight!" I place my hands on my hips and puff out my chest. "Just like my brother and our father before us, and his father before him!"
"Knights, you say?" The flygon tilts his head. "The gallades?"
"Yes! To become a gallade is to be accepted into Her Majesty's elite force. It is family tradition, and I shall do the same!"
"No, you won't." Ash flinches when Scoria snaps his jaw at him after the response.
"Ash! Show some tact."
"How rude, keke!"
"What? I wasn't going to lie to her!"
The three of them banter and bicker amongst each other, but I feel rather left out and confused. Why would he say that? I train just as hard as the rest. "I can become a knight."
"But you're a girl." The other two sigh at Ash. "What?! Everyone here knows that dawn stones don't react to female kirlia, right?"
"Now everyone does." Scoria says with a growl. He turns and looks at me with one eye. "Don't listen to him. Even if you can't become a gallade, you can become a knight. Believe in you dreams and don't forget to rely on other pokemon. We're here to help each other."
"Kekekeke! Look at our Scoria! Being a big bro!" Sulfur, the gastly bounces around with joy as he laughs.
"Fuck off." The other two laugh at the hound's expense and the rest of the day was spent with us playing around town. As fun as it was, I couldn't help but think about what they had said. Eventually, night falls and they escort me back home.
"Have a good night." I start to bow to the trio, but instead step forward and give Scoria a hug. "Thank you. Today was enlightening and very fun." I step back and oddly, he's looking away with an excessive amount of smoke seeping out of his maw. Is he embarrassed? "Will we meet again?"
"Of course!" He barks back. "I have to see what an amazing knight you'll become." For the first time today, I see him smile. It's wide and full of teeth as he looks down on me from the corner of his eye. It looks unnerving, yet feels rather comforting.
"Yeah." I nod. "Watch me. I'll be the best knight ever!"
Satisfied, he chuckles once then turns away to leave. The other two say their goodbyes as well and disappear over the hillside.
"Until next time. Big bro."