Sit, Boy! [Training]

A small, worn out boat was docked at the port of the beautiful Castelia City, the owner having just arrived to start his debut in the Unova region. This young, red haired boy was Jikumo, a new trainer in the pokemon world, who was just itching to get his first gym badge. The trainer stepped off the busted tugboat, letting it sink to the depths of the water before continuing off into the town. His air of difference led a nearby vendor to wave him over just as he stepped onto the streets, as if the guy was desperate for customers. Curiosity got the better of him, though, and he nonchalantly walked over to the small stand that was decorated with various books and brochures.

The old man that owned the small shop smiled kindly at the trainer, "Aah, so young. Are you perhaps looking to challenge Burgh, the gym leader?" Jikumo's eyes widened slightly, but before he could say anything, the old man raised a hand, "Yes, many of you kids come to challenge him, unfortunately you don't seem to be hardened enough for him, yet. Hmm...here, I have...oh, where is it? ...There!" The old man pulled out a small handbook, and placed it in Jikumo's palms. The title read, "Training Procedures for Pokemon Trainers!"

(Training begins now)

"Training procedures, huh? Might as well give it a try."

The intrepid teen decided that a good place to go for training was the harsh desert with its sandy winds. Jikumo wandered the city, getting lost at every turn, and finally giving up when a shady looking man asked if he wanted his "rare candy". A vein nearly popped up from his forehead as he shouted at seemingly nobody, "WHY IS EVERYTHING SO CONFUSING!? Alexander, help me out!!" A pokeball flew into the air, opening up and releasing a flash of bright light. The light formed into a quadruped pokemon, with orange fur and black stripes. The pokemon released a loud howl, and looked around with a protective glare. Jikumo knelt down and pet the tough puppy, "Good boy, you're really attentive, as usual. Hey, I need a favor. Can you smell something...a little desert-y?"

The growlithe tilted its head to the side in confusion, a desert-y smell? Jikumo was asking a lot from the little guy, but not wanting to disappoint its partner, he lifted his nose to the sky and began to sniff at the air. Strangely enough, he smelled something...not "desert-y" but it was something he'd never smelled before. It was then that the pokemon realized that they had moved to an unfamiliar place, and looked back at its trainer with a raised eyebrow. Jikumo jumped a bit as he figured out what Alexander was trying to say, "Wh-whoops! I'm sorry! We arrived in Castelia City a little while ago, I got a little distracted...you see.." After explaining what had happened and showing Alexander the training book, they agreed together that the desert was a perfect place to train.

After about an hour of walking through the city, they came across a bike shop that offered to sell him a bike for less than usual as a..."special" discount. That made finding the desert a lot faster and easier than when they were on foot. The desert's winds made it tough going for the two partners in training, but they pushed right back at the storm like it was nobody's business. They truly were a tough pair, but even the strongest needed a break once in awhile. They took shelter next to a large boulder to catch their breaths and shield themselves from most of the storm, while Jikumo pulled out a bowl and some pokefood, "Hey, Alex, you must be starving by now. Here!" Alexander barked happily, shaking its bushy tail and digging into the chow. The trainer himself pulled out a bottled water and a power bar for energy.

Their bellies full and their bodies rested, the two happily pulled out their recently acquired handbook and started flipping through the pages. "Hmm...lesson one...speed. That sounds doable. Alexander, the handbook says that great pokemon are just as fast as the winds of a hurricane! That's what we have to reach for!" Alexander nodded his head, and turned to the winds in a defiant manner, almost as if challenging the very air itself. Jikumo smiled down at his pokemon, it was an extremely tough one, ever since he had met it. Even now it was trying to do the impossible, to rival the winds in speed, Jikumo was very lucky to have it as a partner.

"Alright, Alexander! Use Wild Charge, and make it a quick one!" The trainer pointed off towards the oncoming storm, the goal was for Alex to be able to push through with no problem. The growlithe snarled and began to rush at the approaching sandstorm, its coat of fur crackling and sparking with electricity. The lightning thickened until it was completely covered in an armor of pure electricity, and it was like a lightning bolt travelling towards the raging force of sand. It was a sight to behold, but the excitement soon ended as the electricity was stripped from Alexander's body as soon as he entered the storm's unbearable force. The poor puppy pokemon was pushed back from the storm, landing in the sand hard enough to create a crater. Jikumo ran over to it, his emergency potion in hand, but it wasn't needed. It was a tough cookie, getting up from that huge attack, shakily, but with a will of fire.

Alexander pushed off of his trainer as he tried to heal him with the potion, clearly stating that it was fine as it was. It began to run at the storm again, pushing itself to run faster through the sand, its little paws tracking in the sand as lightning crackled along its legs. The cloak of pure electricity returned around its body, crackling and snapping around it and turning some of the sand around it to glass from the heat. The furious sandstorm smashed into the running lightning bolt, and just for a moment, it seemed as though the wall of sand would let up. There was no happy ending for this story, though, and again the growlithe was thrown back from the torrent. This time Jikumo jumped onto his pokemon and covered it as the sandstorm raged overtop the two, covering the entire area in a thick layer of sand.

Minutes later, although it felt hours to the two, the storm moved on to a different area. The sand where the pair was buried shifted, and they emerged a sandy and wind-swept mess. Jikumo pet the injured pokemon gently, trying to calm it down, "Heh..you idiot. You've already done enough..." He looked up to the sky, a hand covering his eyes from the sun, "We're not that strong, yet...but we'll get there soon enough. Believe in me, Alex, and I'll believe in you." The growlithe weakly nuzzled closer to Jikumo's chest, feeling his quick heartbeat and feeling comforted that he was cared about.

A couple of hours later, it was a cool night, with the moon lighting up the area. Alexander was dozing off slightly, almost fully rested from the recent events that had taken place. Jikumo was nonchalantly eating from a bag of pistachios, tossing the shells to the side with each one he ate. One shell he tossed straight up into the sky out of boredom, and Alexander opened his eyes slightly. A sudden small flame came from the puppy's mouth, burning the shell to a crisp in mid-air. A sudden spark of brilliance flashed through the trainer's mind, and he quickly pulled the handbook out again and flipped through the now sandy pages. Alexander looked up at his excited trainer as he stretched out, anticipating something special, "Hey, Alex...take a look at this! 'Chapter 2; Accuracy'! Hmm, hey, try using ember like you just did when I throw these, ok?" The fiery spirited pokemon barked and crouched low, like a readying stance.

Jikumo quickly snapped a pistachio open with two fingers, and ate the inside of it. Alexander barked impatiently, "Hey, calm down! I don't want to waste any of this delicious food!" He cracked a few more open and chewed on the insides, grinning at his partner. It was obvious that the growlithe was ready, so he tossed one of the shells over its head. Alexander didn't let its gaze waver, and did a backflip to keep its eyes on the target, firing an ember mid-flip. The ember's large range allowed it to engulf the small nut completely, turning it into ash in mere seconds. Jikumo gave the pup a warm laugh as it fell over on its back cutely, "Haha! Awesome, Alexander! Alright, now let's try multiple!" He tossed three at a time, and watched his partner to see what it would do. Alexander turned to the three shells flying through the air, and started firing embers at them wildly. The shells flew off into the night and landed in the sand, unharmed.

Alexander looked down at the ground in shame, but Jikumo walked over and put a hand on his partner's head, "Don't worry about it, that's what we're training for, right? Come on, let's keep going!" Alexander looked up at Jikumo with a surprised look, he was never usually this kind when he made a mistake. What had changed? It didn't matter to the pokemon, it was just happy that it was loved by its partner just as much as Alex loved Jikumo. He simply barked and got back into his battle position, ready for the following training.

Alexander...thank you.

You've been...

...the best pokemon a guy could have.

Completed.

1394 words

139 exp + 18 exp = 157 exp

Growlithe gained 6 levels with 12 exp remaining

Growlithe is now level 26 and has learnt multiple new moves including:
Flame Wheel
Reversal
Fire Fang
Take Down

P.S. sorry it took so, long mate

No problem. I'm glad its finally done! :D