Eevee Therapy for Little Magi Chapter 60: Fast Fists, Part 2 (Patreon)

Shirou stepped up to the challenger’s box, assessing Leader Komatsu idly. The man was enthusiastic to a point, not even bothered at losing to Illya. Instead, the man seemed even more pumped as though he was looking forward to fighting Shirou more than he had his sister.

“Come on, young man! I can see those muscles from here. If you train your team as well as you train yourself, I’m really looking forward to our match!” the older trainer yelled, preparing his first Pokeball. Shirou slipped Yagi’s ball off his own belt, waiting just a moment for the flag to drop before he hurled out his Lucario.

Yagi arrived on the mats, limbering up his limbs as he took a moment to stretch. Across from him, a Gallade materialized out of the red light, the slender psychic opening one red eye to take in his opponent. “This isn’t a sparring match, you know.”

“I am aware, but you’re not attacking yet. Besides, we all Bulk Up in different ways.” Yagi flexed, his ‘buff’ triggering with a smile.

Gallade immediately moved through his own dance, blades shining sharper with each motion until the Swords Dance was completed; just in time for Yagi to lunge forward at Shirou’s command.

“Head!”

“I’m sorry, what–” Gallade’s head rocked back as Yagi slammed a Zen Headbutt right between his eyes. “-gah, what the-”

Yagi followed up the impact with a rapid flurry of fists, each one crackling with lightning. The rapid Thunderpunches didn’t do much damage, but did force Gallade back on the defensive, before the psychic managed to rally, landing a straight Draining Punch to force Yagi to let up the pressure. Both combatants assessed each other for a moment, before Komatsu cupped his mouth.

“Keep up those punches, you have the edge in attack power right now! Don’t give him time to Bulk Up more!”

“Distance, Yagi,” Shirou barked, correctly assuming that in a straight up contest of power Yagi would eventually lose, due to the presence of the vitality draining move. “Harass with Aura Sphere.” Yagi immediately backpedaled, launching off a sphere at Gallade’s legs, the psychic stumbling and losing his form, eating a second Aura Sphere to his face moments later. He scowled, scuffed by the attack, then lunged in, overextending to deliver a straight cross. Yagi’s eyes gleamed as the speedy attack came close, shifting just enough to slide past the punch and trip Gallade in the process. As the other fighter sprawled out, he followed it up with another Aura Sphere, sending his opponent skipping across the ground.

“I’ve never seen a Lucario fight like that before,” Komatsu called out. “Not so honorable?”

Shirou shook his head violently. “What’s more dishonorable; winning with some trickery, or fighting fairly, losing and letting innocents get hurt?” the son of Kiritsugu Emiya said simply. “Yagi is forthright and fair in all manners of ethics, but low blows against an honest opponent are fair game.”

“Indeed! Besides, is it not honorable for a Gardevoir to fight at range, where they specialize?” Yagi pointed out, mildly frowning at the implication that he was behaving dishonorably. “In addition, Lucario in general tend to be good at both special and physical attacks! I would be dishonoring my own species by purely relying upon my muscles!”

Komatsu laughed. “Most of them like brawling too much to stick to range, though!” he acknowledged as Gallade rolled to his feet and surged back, intercepting the Aura Sphere flung at him with a Psycho Cut. “Gallade! Another Swords Dance, then all in! An endurance match isn’t in our favor, not if he’s using Detect!”

Gallade nodded, moving through the motions of a second Swords Dance.

“Close,” Shirou barked, Yagi Bulking Up again as he closed the distance and slammed his forehead into Gallade once more, though not before the other Pokemon managed to slam his own fist into Yagi’s gut. Both staggered, but Yagi recovered much faster, Gallade still flinching from the second Zen Headbutt. Yagi reared back and delivered a vicious right hook to the same spot on Gallade’s forehead, laying out his opponent cold.

“Leader Komatu’s Pokemon is unable to battle. Please send out your next pokemon.” The referee called, her flag raised.

Komatsu returned his first Pokemon, before sending out his second. The light revealed a compact Pokemon with a pair of glove-clad fists, the Hitmonchan immediately beginning to bounce on his feet. As soon as he sighted Yagi, he tightened his focus, then blurred forward, his Mach Punch Yagi barely managed to dodge. As Yagi spun away, Hitmonchan gave a hop to clear his opponent’s legs, then came down with a one-two hit of Fire Punch and Drain Punch.

Perhaps sensing that he was about to go down, or perhaps just trying to get in another hit, Yagi simply slammed a pair of electric-encrusted fists into his foe before he went down, hard, without a word.

The crowd roared at the sight, even as Shirou returned his first Pokemon. Komatsu, on the other hand, flinched as he noticed the small sparks of electricity running across Hitmonchan’s form, the last Thunderpunches enough to leave behind paralysis. 

A lance of red light recalled Yagi into his Pokeball, Shirou taking a moment to hold it out before him as he nodded in thanks. Immediately afterwards, another ball left his belt, entered his hand, and spun out onto the field in the space of two seconds, Fafnir emerging from the Pokeball with a roar. Without even being ordered, the Gabite surged forward. A Dragon Rush slammed into Hitmochan, the boxer failing to evade only due to Yagi’s final blow. A guard, however, came up in time, mitigating the blow as the dragoness’ opponent slid backwards.

Komatsu nodded. “We prepared for this. Ice Punch, Hitmonchan, lock her down.” Hitmonchan nodded, but even as his gloves went ice white, his limbs responded sluggishly, and his feet, though steady, took effort to move. He darted forward regardless, fists lashing out towards his bulky target.

“Dig,” Shirou snapped, the land-shark obeying the command with alacrity. Fafnir dove at the ground, the mats shredding as she passed through them and into the earth beneath. One of Hitmonchan’s punches grazed Fafnir as she dove, but the dragon could handle a little ice, especially after months of training with first Fubuki, and now Anastasia.

Hitmonchan grimaced as his opponent vanished, hopping back and forth on his feet as she moved beneath him. This was not a good matchup now; Fafnir had the edge in evasion and aggression, and though Hitmonchan was a tough pokemon, he’d come into this battle already softened up.

Some instinct caused the fighting type to hop up and to one side as Fafnir emerged from the ground, but his dodge was unsuccessful; rather than come up directly underneath the boxer, the land shark had emerged from underground at an angle, flying across the field at an angle to connect with Hitmonchan with one fin, smashing him back once again. Hitmonchan took the blow head on, carried by the hit and used the cling time to smash another Ice Punch into Fafnir’s face before he was slammed into the mat by one arm.

“Dragon Claw, finish this,” Shirou barked, even as Fafnir did exactly that, claw slamming against the boxer and sending him to the floor, out cold. He didn’t manage to land another hit before he fainted, which left Shirou rather relieved; Fafnir hadn’t enjoyed the one hit she’d taken, frost leaving behind savage red marks across her face from the one full-on strike she’d endured.

Komatsu returned his second Pokemon. “Good luck with that Paralysis, but that’s the nature of a fight; sometimes the gods give someone a small edge.” He flicked out another ball. “Let’s see if force can match force, hmm? I was hoping to save him for your starter, but… Machamp, let’s go.”

Fafnir took a half pace back as her opponent landed. The four-armed fighting type was bulky, sturdy, and worst of all, wary. Instead of posing and flexing, he breathed deep, then began to Focus Energy, every muscle tightening and his eyes glinting as he prepared himself.

“Dragon Dance,” Shirou commanded softly. “Set up, and go to town.” Fafnir nodded going through the motions of her own setup, her speed increasing.

Komatsu nodded. “You know what to do, Machamp; take her down.” The massive fighter nodded, then surged at Fafnir, all four arms glowing with the gold-tinged-purple of draconic energy.

Analyzing Fafnir’s condition as the Dual Chop approached, Shirou nodded to himself, “Match it. Dragon Rush.” Fafnir nodded, darting forward to meet the clash head on. Her body smashed into Machamp’s torso, the massive fighting type sliding backward half a pace before all four of his fists landed, one after another.

One hit her side, the second her back, and a third smashed into her torso. But the last drove straight into her damaged face, the impact breaking her guard and drawing blood, to gasps from the audience. Machamp, however, didn’t flinch, and though Fafnir staggered, she didn’t just go down. 

“Dragon Claw, make it coun,.” Shirou commanded, hiding his wince. It wouldn’t due for Fafnir to get any ideas that he didn’t respect her desire to brawl it out, especially when, for Fafnir especially, being a dragon meant that she HAD to go that extra mile all the time. His dragon gave a bloody grin, then lashed out with one last swipe, Machamp grinning even as he rocked back from the final blow. In response, he delivered one last sucker punch, laying her out before lowering her slumped body to the ground.

“She’s a tough one. Wild-raised, if I had to guess,” Komatsu called out as Shirou returned fafnir to her ball. “You’re still a half-step ahead of me, though. Going to send out your starter?”

Another lance of red light recalled the Dragon back to her lair, Shirou offering Fafnir a nod before his hand reached for Ritsuka’s ball, only to pause. He didn’t exactly need to place his ace on the field yet, especially when Anastasia was still waiting on the metaphorical bench. Besides, thinking strategically, Ana was best served against an opponent like this. Sure, she couldn’t actually punch it out with Machamp, but she was shockingly good at mitigating blows, and against an opponent where it was theoretically possible that dodging would do essentially nothing, she was probably the correct choice.

Besides, the fight-maniac would enjoy it, and who was he to deny her that. With a firm nod, Shirou sent the Alolan Vulpix’s pokeball spinning onto the field, revealing the snow-fox, who immediately smirked.

“Oh you bring me the BEST opponents, Shirou.”

The field went quiet for a moment, before Komatsu coughed. “Umm… this might be unfair–” He stopped as Machamp raised one fist, the fighting type not shifting out of a ready stance.

“You’ve seen battle. A lot of battle. How’d an old vixen like you end up with such a young buck?” Machamp rumbled, fists tightening.

A ‘mock’ offended gasp escaped from the apparently elderly Pokemon, “Excuse you! I am NOT old. Just very experienced! Which is what happens when your first trainer and you end up not meshing after an entire journey because he decided to settle down after he lost his fire!”

Evidently, Anastasia was rather annoyed at the ‘old’ comment. Though Shirou was pretty sure she wouldn’t give a shit if it was just referring to her age. Honestly, knowing her, she was more taking offense at the comment that she had to be old due to the amount of combat she’d seen.

“Also, I just have an unhealthy enjoyment of battles and this one is Chosen, so, yeah. Fate innit?”

There it was.

“Sorry, seasoned vixen,” Machamp grumbled. “...Chosen, huh? That’s not a good sign. Well, best get to it, then.” Machamp immediately leapt off the ground, pulling up all four arms to prepare for impact on the already damaged floor.

“Earthquake? Get the barriers up!” Komatsu ordered.

“Triple Axel, if you would, Anastasia.” Shirou requested. He could give orders. He knew Ana would respect them, but honestly, at the moment, she knew more about her preferred style of combat than he did.

Shirou just knew that the small fox REALLY had an unhealthy fixation with brawling, despite her natural talents at using special moves. Then again - Shirou blinked as the snow-fox darted across the battlefield, leaping into the air with grace to avoid a portion of the ‘damage’ that Earthquake would otherwise inflict on her, only to immediately descend like a spinning top and savage the Machop with three concurrent blows - it wasn’t as if she couldn’t mix them in at close range.

Machamp was forced to rechannel the energy into a backhand, the earth power knocking her back as he struck the ground, the Earthquake dissipating before it could rock the room. Steadying his footing after the impromptu interruption, he looked up to find a head-sized burst of pink energy flying for his face. “Ah, shit–”

The Moonblast impacted like a small star, Machamp recoiling in pain before bolting back across the arena, all four fists igniting with Drain Punches as Komatsu yelled orders. He’d need to end this quickly, before this little fox could recover from releasing such a blast and dish out another one.

“Keep the pressure up, Ana!” Shirou barked, eyes sharpening as he watched the Machamp closely, the little fox already surging forward for another Triple Axel. “Icy Wind as well!”

Ana launched herself up, clipped by one of the flying fists but weaving through them before she launched into a second whirl of ice, hosing down her opponent with her frosty breath between passes. Machamp managed to recover a little from the impacts of his fists, but it wasn't enough to recover what he lost from each impact of her tails and the growing cold of the sustained clash against the ice type. He backpedaled, frost sloughing off him as he worked to restore his warmth and keep from freezing, even as the bruised Vulpix landed back on the ground, winded but still up.

Her opponent didn’t have even a second to respond before another Moonblast slammed into him, sending him spiralling through the air and straight into the arena wall.

Before the ref could declare victory, Anastasia turned to Shirou and nodded, “Well, I’m satisfied. If you don’t mind Shirou, I’m tapping out. Can’t be winning all your battles for you, after all. Not until something like the seventh or eighth gym, anyway, going by how you and Illya are progressing.”

“Fair. Referee, my Vulpix will be withdrawing from the battle,” Shirou said. An impish thought that sounded like his little sister popped into his mind, and he let it out. “She’s a little winded, comes with being her age.”

“Rude. I’ll get you for that later.”

Shirou just shrugged as Anastasia loped off the field, taking a seat in the stands next to Illya as Shirou withdrew his last Pokeball. Across from him, Machamp vanished in a flash of light, and with the drop of the flag, both trainers sent out their last teammates.

Ritsuka stretched slightly as he landed on the ground, looking across the battlefield… only to stop and blink at his opponent. Shirou coughed as a Staraptor caught his starter in an Intimidate. “...erm, is that…”

Komatsu grinned. “Staraptor is one of my best brawlers, and he’s great for dealing with folks who try to escape into the air. I’m pretty sure they should be fighting types, anyway.”

Shirou nodded, then snapped out an order. “Dragon Dance, then take off.”

“Aerial Ace!” Komatsu ordered, Staraptor blurred forward with one talon lashing out, slashing Ritsuka at the end of his dance, the big bird landing a hit before the dragon-fox could brace himself. With a cry, Ritsuka rose into the air, hovering to meet his opponent on their own level.

“Keep your range open, Ritsuka. Dragon Pulse,” Shirou commanded, nodding towards his starter. Ritsuka flew back, blasting out with a pulse and catching Staraptor square, the flyer wincing as he took the blow.

“Alright, we gotta make this fast. Close Combat!” Komatsu ordered, Staraptor flying up and forward wings and talons both glowing as he closed in to bully Ritsuka into the ground. 

“Evade,” Shirou calmly ordered, Ritsuka trilling their agreement as they swooped downwards, barely dodging under the predictable - if extremely rapid - blows Staraptor rained down on them. Without prompting, a pulse of draconic energy lanced outwards from their mouth, raking their foe briefly before, once more, the fox-dragon was forced to evade.

After a few moments of intense savagery, Staraptor was forced to slow down, limbs coming to a halt. Komatsu snapped out another command. “Endure!”

Shirou immediately strangled his order, and Ritsuka choked back his next attack, letting the red light covering Staraptor flicker, intensify, and then die before he unleashed his next attack, the Dragon Pulse slashing across his opponent. Staraptor staggered back, before falling from the sky, landing on his back, out cold.

Komatsu sighed. “Well, he’s got good control. You’ve earned your Cobble Badge!” He called out, shooting a thumbs up. “But ah… before I hand it over. Any interest in a match?” His smile turned feral. “You’re not just fit, you’re trained, I can tell.”

For a moment, it looked as if Shirou would accept, then, with a shake of his head, he sighed. “Not right now. I have other things I need to do today. Perhaps another time?”

“Fair enough! Might need to fix the arena before a match.” Komatsu walked across the torn up mats, extending a hand to Shirou, the young man taking it. “Well done. Your teams are well trained, and stronger than your badge count would indicate,” he said quietly as he passed over a badge. “Ah, shoot!” he said louder. “I only have Drain Punch Technical Machines on me. Follow me, young man, I’ve got something else for you. You come too, young lady, not going to split up a family!” He laughed as the crowd cheered.

Komatsu led them off the mats and into the rooms to one side, heading through an empty break room and into a small office. He dug into a cabinet, before holding up another Technical Machine. “Brick Break, a solid choice. Dunno if you need it, but it can’t hurt to have options.” He handed Shirou the disc, then looked over both the kids. “Now, if you’re still interested, we can talk about Galactic.”

Both children nodded immediately. That was a good chunk of the reason they had come to the building immediately, after all. If they were just after the badge, they could have done so on another day.

“Right, so… Galactic. They built this town, and I respect that, but recently… well, their new CEO has started making some odd changes. The uniforms changed, for one, but that’s just odd fashion. More concerning to me, is that everyone in the company, at least their ‘field staff’, seems to be moving into their company housing, and giving the cold shoulder to anyone who’s not a part of the company.” He grimaced. “Recently, they fired all non-direct hire staff, including the support companies and outside contractors who’ve been supplying them for decades. They’ve been offering the lost jobs back, so long as you go through their ‘company retraining’. It’s concerning, especially since they’ve locked down their sections of the docks. They’ve not let any of my people or even the police go in there without an escort in months. All told, it looks like they’re turtling up.”

“Moving to become a real ‘Team’, one might say,” Illya stated with a thoughtful hum.

“Yeah, could be. I hope not.” Komatsu sighed. “Rocket’s tried to expand into Sinnoh before, didn’t end well. Anyway, you may not have noticed, but I’m a bit obvious to go stomping around in the docks. But if there’s any clues outside their headquarters, it’ll be there. I don’t have much of a plan, but if I make some noise elsewhere in the city, think either of you could get into their district and see what you can flush out? I’ll come running if they try something, of course.”

Illya paused, then tapped Fubuki’s Pokeball. “I might have some ways to help with that…”