--- Azalea Town Training ---
Alexa hovered out of the door of the pokeball shop with a sigh. "Well, that didn't go too badly," she attempted to tell the other trainer.
"As far as hits to my view of the world goes, this one is one of the more mundane," William agreed and looked over Wooper's new Water Ball. It had a dark and light blue shell, with white lines and an even lighter blue to make a Water type symbol on its upper half just above the button. "Somehow that's worse. I can handle knowing some strange fact about reality that doesn't effect me much a lot better than the possibility that pokemon-trainers aren't getting the right education."
"We need to ask Charizard if he was told about those," Alexa agreed easily. It had her both worried about her own prospects this League, and about how Charizard would have done in the last one if he had set off as a trainer instead. "Also I need to get at least five different pairs of gloves."
"Five?" William asked but then groaned. "Right, two sets of arms for Vespikiln. I forgot that you need all of the clothes for every form. I just have to mimic what I've got if I use clothes for other forms."
"I'm not going to just wear gloves on one set of arms," Alexa buzzed with a bit of annoyance and held out her four arms for emphasis.
"Alexa Larch?" a voice questioned from nearby, which turned out to be the local Gym Leader. Bugsy's purple hair and field gear was easily recognizable. "The reason why Falkner apparently has spent a few days as a Bug type?"
"To be fair, I'm pretty sure that was the fastest way to turn him into a Flying typed pokemon Alexa had," William admitted with dry sarcasm. "You've met him right?"
Bugsy took a moment to look over Alexa with a critical eye that felt a bit uncomfortable. "It was a Bug type with wings," the Leader sighed, but still looked at her in a way that wasn't at all a Gym Leader looking at a possible opponent trainer. It was an expert trainer for her current type of pokemon that was inspecting a new species. "Of course, why did I think it was any other reason."
"Falkner was a bit driven on that front," Alexa admitted a bit more firmly than she normally spoke, in the hope that being able to talk would help with that sort of thing like William suggested it would. "My team and I ended up warning his team about it, because we were worried he might just fly off somewhere."
"Again, he might just fly off somewhere again," Bugsy corrected her. He still didn't seem to be looking at her like a human. "He has done that before even without his own set of wings. Unless you count mechanical ones, in which case he's just plain done it before."
"His Pidgeot might have mentioned that," Alexa allowed tiredly. William gave her a sympathetic look at how being able to talk did nothing to change Bugsy's reaction to her appearance. "I honestly kind of hope you don't want to try out being a Vespikiln too." She wondered if reminding the Leader she was a transformed human would help.
"To be one of them, no. To have a match against one of those ancient Bug types though," Bugsy suggested. "I won't make it a hard requirement to participate yourself, but if you could it would make my year."
Alexa had not been in a trainer verses trainer match yet herself, despite spending a bit of time on Route 32 working with her pokemon more physically than she had ever attempted before. She honestly had not seriously engaged with her pokemon like they did with each other for serious training. However, this was a request from a Gym Leader, and while Bugsy said it wasn't a requirement that didn't change that she wasn't sure she could honestly say 'no'. At best she could say she wasn't ready, and it was very possible that this Gym Leader would ask if she could come back when she was. A third Badge match she wasn't quite ready for might still be easier than a fourth or fifth that she was somewhat more prepared for, and she did not want to even try sixth or higher herself without a lot more work.
"Alexa hasn't fought in any matches herself yet," William said a bit firmly himself. "And from what I've heard all it would take is her own loss to lose the entire match."
"I was thinking a four on four match against a typical first time third Badge team with the added requirement that all pokemon on her team are either Bug typed or had originally been Bug typed," Bugsy clarified with a nod. "Not to mention that Vespikiln are Bug types known for hunting other Bug types."
"I think I might be able to handle that with a bit of practice," Alexa cut in before William could argue on her behalf more. "But I will need to double check with my team before I can say I have that many pokemon that count for it. Only one was originally Bug, and one of the two who tried Bug before isn't entirely fond of that change." Bellossom might possibly agree, but Rhydon really did not like the way the change ended for everyone other than Alexa.
"So you need to prepare still. How about in a week, can you spare that much time?" Bugsy questioned thoughtfully.
"I believe we already planned on being here that long at least," Alexa agreed, and she was quite glad to see the Gym Leader nod and walk away at that confirmation.
"Are you sure about that?" William asked her with concern.
"I need to try eventually," Alexa admitted. "And I don't want to have come all the way here and not get a Gym match out of it."
---
"A Gym Leader asked you to do some extreme challenge again," Charizard summarized as they found an empty area near the town to train in. "Do you have to just switch between your two parents? I'd rather not have my trainer end up with a collection of scars as big as your mother's."
"My Lobasalt form can resurface," Alexa grumbled, well aware that it would not likely solve that issue. "I don't want to have come all this way only to need to come back again when he uses an even stronger team. Third Badge is about the limit of when you would actually use a newly caught pokemon without much training, so I should be able to handle whatever one he uses last on my own."
"We start with Mercury Contagion, the move version," Bellossom said in agreement instead of helping with Charizard's argument. "You already have Chitin Powder, but his pokemon are already Bug typed."
"We probably should start with making sure she can handle the basics," Kingler argued and motioned towards Rhydon. "I say we go for super effective moves first, both at and from her. She's dealing with double from Rock types, and single from Flying and Water." Kingler also pointed out Charizard and Rhydon.
"That might also tell us what kinds of Bugs he is going to try to use," Alexa noted and nodded at the idea. "The rest of you can setup to be able to take on those types."
"Huh, I could go for Bug/Water," Charizard considered with a joking smile.
"William, what in the world is happening," Chesnaught lamented from where the other trainer was letting out his own team. "Why is the strange Starter-trainer talking about being two types that are his opposites at the same time?"
"So, am I going to have to be a Bug again?" Rhydon asked with considerable concern while William explained the Gym challenge Alexa had been given. "The change itself isn't bad, but the way it ends." Her pokemon shuddered.
"We could try with your altered Grass type form," Alexa suggested with a look at Bellossom. The difference that layered forms made was notable. "That might cause you to change back differently."
"Although if we do try that then it either works or he doesn't use the other one," Charizard pointed out. "Unless we go into the forest and look for Celebi," he then added with a joking tone. Alexa pretended that she did not hear a faint giggle, and also that everyone else present didn't pale slightly after the sound that she decided did not happen.
"I can always try, but I might need to remove some layers first," Bellossom offered a touch nervously and used claws to scratch at the base of some of the flowers along the heavily transformed reptile's spine. "Although if it makes the Jade stay on better I might want another one over it."
Alexa nodded and got a vial of Crystal Syrup out of her bag for Rhydon. She spared a glance over at Chesnaught, but William's Grass/Fighting type didn't seem to really notice anything special about the substance. Rhydon took the much stronger vial and drank it easily. His body breaking apart into leaves, branches, and a core of dirt once again.
"Ooh, rocky pokemon turned into fluffy pokemon," Wooper said with the considerable and loud interest of a small child.
"Suddenly I am aware of why the rest of the team has been looking at me funny," Mareep added a bit faintly.
"Oh, that looks like it would be an interesting Acid Armor variant," Goodra contributed to the crowd's conversation as Rhydon spent a moment to really stretch and shift. "You keep all the branches moving so they only hit leaves instead of just being not-solid. I like it."
"So, Chitin Powder now?" Alexa asked, and Rhydon nodded. Charizard once more ended up with their Pokedex, and she was careful not to get any of the powder on herself, despite already being changed by the substance, mostly in case it increased her own duration further. Alexa wanted some time as something other than a Vespikiln before this Gym match.
The powder landed on Rhydon, and immediately the dirt that made up his core began to expand outward and change into a number of paper shells. A few more smaller wasp nests then formed at other locations among his branches. Then a number of tiny wasps began to emerge from the paper structures and buzz around Rhydon. They were tiny things, barely the length of a human's pinky finger, and seemed to shift along with Rhydon's movements in an odd way.
"Alexa, this is the most confusing change yet," the topiary pokemon with a few wasp nests stated. "I'm sort of the wasps too? Maybe?" Rhydon's eyes crossed to look at one on the leaves along his face, and a number of the tiny bugs flew in an odd pattern to face the same spot. "Can that be a thing?"
"Yes," Goodra answered before Alexa could even consider the question. "Yes, that is a thing that can happen with some pokemon. What was that fish pokemon we ran into during our first League?"
"Wishiwashi," William sighed the answer. "We lost to a Wishiwashi some foreign trainer brought to the League Tournament because none of us knew that 'one' pokemon could just be an entire school of fish."
"Okay, well I doubt that this will end the same way as before, but I will have to see what happens to all the little bugs," Rhydon tentatively allowed. "Although I am a bit worried they might just fly away, and that is kind of concerning."
"Scans are a bit iffy on this one. Alexa, I think you might need to look into this. We might even need your dad's help," Charizard said with a puzzled look at the Pokedex. "I'm getting some odd readings form them, and despite how many times you've handed me this thing I don't actually understand most of this stuff."
Alexa took the device back and tried to check the results herself. Then blinked at them, shifted the Pokedex to her lower arms and started to look for the manual in her bag with her upper pair. It was easier to use those for stuff she was looking at mostly because they were closer to her head. "Yeah, I think this is a dad-problem," she replied after a quick check of the dense book that revealed that she had no idea what some parts of the explanation of the display meant, let alone the things they were trying to tell her.
"I think we should work a bit on your lower arms too," Charizard noted thoughtfully. "You use them a bit, but I've seen you forget you have them a couple of times the past few days too."
---
Chesnaught flinched as she felt her shell grow a bit more rigid, and the feeling of heat of Alexa's Vespikiln form increased noticeably. This was the second time the two of them had gone for a training bout that day, so Chesnaught was well aware of the dangers of the temporary Steel type addition move Alexa was working on, and as a result she was able to counter Alexa with a strong Rollout attack that was slightly enhanced by the addition of a metal coat.
The Bug/Fire type took the hit hard, and Chesnaught aborted the attack roughly herself in order to make up for that lack of skill. "Ugh, alright, I think your team should handle super effective moves for you," she grumbled from the small crater that she dug in order to stop herself. "Or at least I'm not trying anymore."
"I'm pretty sure most of the problem is with me," Alexa admitted apologetically. "I think I might need to dodge more than take hits in general." The Vespikiln didn't actually stand to say that, instead staying down in a way that had taken Chesnaught a few weeks to understand the need for after becoming a Starter. The classes on being a Starter had taught the skill of resting to not make the situation worse, but it had taken actual practice on William's team to drive the lessons home. "We might not be able to afford the supplies I'd need to practice this quickly."
"Alexa, I can pay for the medical supplies for this," Charizard pointed out, and Chesnaught tried to not react to another mention of how the other Starter of their group was also basically a trainer. It was one thing for William to be like that, he could speak human and look like one too. Even Alexa was human first and turned into pokemon forms. Charizard had just learned how to read and write, which Chesnaught had the opportunity for but never actually considered doing. It was a level of knowledge within her reach.
"I think Alexa still needs a break for today," William suggested as the bee trainer started to unsteadily stand up, which was a good distraction from that thought.
"I hate to say it, William, but I don't agree," Chesnaught sighed as she considered the practical aspects of this. "She has a week to get into shape to handle a Gym battle, and from what everyone is saying if she goes down they just lose. I know the plan is for her to go last, but all it will take is for the last pokemon to have a good super effective move right now."
"It is better than when we started, but I'm in trouble if I can't handle at least one bad hit enough to send in someone else," Alexa agreed and fumbled a bit to use a potion. "That was one move to take me out of the fight."
"Chesnaught did hit a bit harder than most three Badge fights," Charizard pointed out and got another potion for his trainer. "But that is part of the point, we want to be ready for something worse than we are going to face." He did not use the healing item. "I think that broke your defense, the first one didn't seem to work. We might need to wait a bit anyway, or use a Revive to restart it."
"A break then," Alexa lamented. "We can't afford that much even if you use your money. Rhydon, are you up for a bit of work while I recover?"
Chesnaught felt that seeing Rhydon change was a bit more of an explanation of just how Alexa's team could deal with the strangeness. Apparently he was one of the first changed, and the first to outright prefer a form over his original. It was a massive alteration compared to the brief move-based changes to her own type she had faced before and now. Trick-Or-Treat was now a horrible realization that she had been Ghost typed, even if just for a short time. Soak was half familiar, and now that Chesnaught had a better idea of what options were out there a bit worse than the others. Losing her types for one she couldn't use was worse in the moment.
In comparison to those two, the move Alexa was using to make her Steel typed for an extra Fire type weakness was halfway tolerable. It also made it so Alexa's limited Bug type moves less viable, and outright removed any risk from the Poison type moves the Vespikiln had attempted earlier before it was clear that Alexa couldn't outlast a foe yet.
"Oh, can try?" Wooper questioned. "Want to try!"
Chesnaught shared a look with William about the small pokemon who was double weak to the Grass type going against one. "Maybe you can wait for Alexa to be ready again," her trainer suggested instead. "Give her some time with a new pokemon to work with that."
"She's going to need help with that," Chesnaught agreed, and tried not to flinch too much about how Alexa could in fact put out some fairly strong Fire attacks. Even without the double weakness of an added Steel type the Vespikiln could manage a win against Chesnaught with a few solid hits. It would still be the safer option for her team's newest member, but maybe not by much.
"I'm a bit nervous about trying to go up against that team myself," Mareep noted quietly, but not quiet enough. "Fire is a nice addition, but- But Alexa is changing Chesnaught's type as an attack, and that is a bit much for me right now."
In the end it was Scyther that ended up going against Rhydon, which was to the Grass/Bug type's disadvantage, but Chesnaught's teammate was even less used to an opponent that could manage Rock typed attacks without being one. Rhydon's attempt at Rock Throw was fairly small and weak compared to what Chesnaught was sure he could do in his natural form, but for a plant with a wasp nest in it the result was impressive and a good surprise.
---
"We might as well get as much practice as we can," Charizard said with a flick of the fin at the end of his currently Fire/Water typed tail. Alexa carefully watched as her Starter got ready to see what Chitin Powder did to him when he was like this, Pokedex in her lower arms because she was more dexterous with her upper ones. The reminder that she had the extra limbs to do this herself was a bit embarrassing.
"Fire should still be the less compatible one," Alexa said, mostly to William's team. "Although I'm not sure how Bug/Water will turn out for you."
"I want to see what he looks like with a shell," Chesnaught called out smugly, apparently a bit more comfortable now with these changes.
Alexa shook her head and once again sprinkled some of the powder onto him. His skin again started to harden into segmented plates, but this time the main color shifted to a dark blue instead of the green he had become the first time they used the powder on him. His face and head became more angular but also widened as it changed to flat surfaces and his two horns simply becoming longer, thicker, and pointed. His claws and arms changed the same way again, with the formation of a notable ball at his shoulder and clear segments to his arms while his claws expanded into a circular three part structure that was nearly round when closed. His legs and toes only became segmented, but his tail once more broadened out into a long thick segmented appendage with a fin at the end like a lobster. Finally his tailflame was replaced with closely collected water and additional spheres appeared along the tips of his fin-ribs, as those back fins remained entirely unchanged.
"I think this explains why it didn't work on Kingler," Charizard clicked, and frowned at the sound. "I kind of want to see if we can get more lobster forms at this point," he joked.
"He looks good with a shell," Chesnaught complained loudly, which made Charizard burst out in sudden laughter. "It isn't funny, you were supposed to look silly and you don't."
"I'm more concerned about when he turns back," Rhydon grumbled, but with a bit of an uneasy smile. "But that will be a few days from now, and again a few more after that since the match is so long from now."
---
[Author's Initial Note]
Not entirely happy with this one, but I also don't really have anything else to put here for the moment to continue it and it is taking a while to get this far.
I'm going to let this one sit until I have the next written, and then see if I can get things better with some distance.
[Updated]
So, I've reviewed this one, it does hold up to accomplish what I want out of it, and I was able to spot another thing to add, but it feels a bit short still.
