[Elizabeth Waters]

word count: 661

Training continued for Liz and co, and after their warm up and water break, it was now time for things to get a bit more complicated. The ranger tightened her ponytail and adjusted her military cap then lead her five pokemon teammates back to the training field. The warm up had been rather typical, a simple pairing up, largely via typing, those of equivalent typing, Ayla and Damara, those of neutral type advantage, Loki and Cecylia, and then Liz and Raya and though Liz wasn't a pokemon per say, her martial skill was on par with that of the fighting type lucario.

Liz's was a fairly traditional trainer in sticking with type advantages and focusing largely on offensive attacks. The ranger however knew that a type advantage could be overcome or canceled out were an opponent to know the right kinds attacks or strategy. One couldn't simply expect their opponent to just sit there and let their pokemon be hit by a super effective attack now could they? And while Liz liked to hit hard and fast where possible, she still understood the value of defense. Of course it could be odd to see the ranger's fighting style in this manner when outside of battle as one might typically think of her as quite gentle.

However, in their eagerness and haste to get to training, Liz had forgotten an important part of warming up, stretching. As with any physical activity besides being well hydrated one also needed to be limber and loose so that one would not end up causing themselves more physical harm. Their starting warm ups had been about releasing any pent up energy from inactivity through their most powerful attacks and then getting them in a proper mindset of playing on the defensive side. When training against your fellow teammates one didn't want to cause them serious harm. It was necessary they all be ready to avoid attacks as much as possible, which naturally translated into all out battles as well.

Still, Liz wanted the group to at least go through a few simple stretches before they continued. The ranger directed her teammates to fan out in front of her and stand in a straight line. Now with her pokemon companions that could stand on two legs stretches were quite simple to execute when following a human lead. Damara settled on the group alongside Cecylia and Raya took up position next to the pikachu marking the center of the five. Ayla stood at Raya's side the tropius towering over almost all the others. And then came Loki next to Ayla though the ghost cared little for the stretching exercises. Though it did make one wonder, did ghosts need to stretch? Either way Loki was intent on floating upside down, spinning top like in the air.

"Okay guys, now follow me." Liz instructed as she raised her arms up and started a pretty basic stretching routine. First a full body stretch, reaching for the sky as far as one could. Cecylia and Raya matched their trainer's pose, Cecylia following the mental image Liz provided her. Damara and Ayla raised their wings high, to the height of their wingspan. Loki elongated himself then cackled as he made faces at the others. The others rolled their eyes at his antics, the ghost was always trying to get a rise out of those around him. Though Liz was lucky the mismagius liked them enough not to give them ghostly hallucinations as his kind were known to do.

The girl continued to lead them in varying stretches to cover each part of the body. Neck, back, arms, legs, torso, she didn't want anyone to get hurt in the next phase of their training regime. The body was a delicate instrument and keeping it healthy and well tuned was important, especially for creatures as powerful as pokemon. Once everyone was feeling relaxed and limber, Liz was ready to move on to something more challenging.

---

[Elizabeth Waters]

word count: 612(+661=1273)

Type matchups was Pokemon 101 and one of the first lessons taught at a Pokemon Trainer's school for those who'd ever attended. Knowing how to deal with a type's weaknesses and surprise your opponents could often be one of your greatest advantages in battle, but of course it was generally a good idea to play it safe if one could by avoiding pitting a weak type against a stronger type. But then again, one never knows what sort of attacks that supposed 'weak type' would have. And then there were some that had very few weaknesses, electric types and ghost types being some such pokemon.

Liz crossed her arms and looked the five of her group over. Now normally a fighter would be weaker to either of the grass fliers, however, the steel typing counteracted that natural weakness. Then of course a flier was typically weaker against an electric user, yet the grass typing also acted as a counter for electricity. And then there was electric types which only had the one real weakness, ground obviously, of which none of Liz's team knew an attack for, at the moment. Plus you had your ghost type which was completely immune to all normal and fighting attacks.

However, of the five Loki knew the best combination of attacks to use against almost all her group. Therefore the ghost got to be the designated offender for this round. Liz beckoned Cecylia to her side, she and the pikachu would work on something else while the other three combatted the mismagius. Thus the girl directed each of her pokemon to stand in a cone, with Loki acting as the point. The ghost was almost ecstatic at getting to play the 'bad guy'. While it might seem as if it was a three on one, Liz's only focus right now was having her trio deal with attacks they were weak against.

"Now Loki... would you please pay attention for once?" Liz stated then sighed, her mental tone growing much more stern. Loki was currently upside down and shaking his backside at the others. He cackled then blew a raspberry at Liz but righted himself and began to slowly drift side to side. The troublesome ghost enjoyed his tricks and his games but he did at least care for Liz and respected her, well, for the most part. He knew when she got serious it was time to tone it down, but he never actually straight up stopped.

The girl put her hands on her hips and considered her options. "Alright, Loki use Mystical Fire and we'll start with Ayla. Damara watch Ayla closely okay?" She looked to the grass owl. Of her group Damara was still inexperienced and was in the most need of these training sessions. She was lucky however to have plenty of examples to follow. Ayla of course made a good mentor due to their shared typing, though Ayla was quite a bit bigger than Damara. Each would have different strengths and weaknesses to work with.

Loki cackled and a circle of flame began forming from the gem below his neck. Ayla tensed and watched the fire closely. "You got this Ayla, wait for it..." Liz instructed as she watched the pair face off. The circle grew then collapsed inward and burst forward. "Now Ayla, blow it back with Gust!" The ranger signaled and Ayla's quad wings beat in one powerful burst that sent almost a shockwave of gust forward. The force of the winds collided with the fire and snuffed it out before it managed to reach the tropius. Liz grinned and gave an enthusiastic nod. "Very nice, now it'll be Damara's turn."

---

[Elizabeth Waters]

word count: 654(+1273=1927)

Damara looked a little nervous. The timid rowlet wasn't all that fond of battling but Liz knew it would be beneficial for her to at least know how to handle herself if it came to a fight. Liz wasn't a taskmaster and tried to be considerate of her pokemon's feelings. But as a ranger she knew it was always a possibility they'd be faced with someone who didn't play by the rules or care how a pokemon felt. She wanted all her pokemon to be able to fend for themselves in the event they had no other choice. Plus training and battling were a pretty good way to build one's confidence as well. Liz hoped that with a little more experience with battles and a bit more training Damara might begin to come out of her shell a little.

The psychic looked at Loki and nodded. "Power Gem but tone it down just a little Lok." She repeated then looked to Damara. The rowlet fluttered her wings to remain hovering in place. She looked rather terrified of the ghost but she didn't try to fly away though she did have that option. Damara hooted with a little concern and glanced at Liz. "Hang in there Damara, you ca do it." Raya and Ayla called their own encouragements as well. The little owl grew tense as she waited for the attack to come. Loki sneered at the rowlet then began building up his power and a beam of blue white light shot forward from the gem around his neck.

"Okay Damara, now just like we were practicing earlier, wings spread wide and ride the current to evade the attack." Liz explained. Damara didn't seem confident but she did as asked opened her wings to catch the current breeze. It wasn't the most blustery day but a cool winter's wind was still blowing through rather briskly. The power gem attack was moving fast but Liz and Damara waited for the last second. "Okay now pump your wings as hard as you can!" The girl instructed. Damara slammed her wings downward as hard as she could and shot straight up in the air as the energy from the rock type move passed underneath her harmlessly.

Loki huffed and scowled as he did a somersault. The ghost wouldn't have minded if the move had hit. Liz sighed and gave him a scolding look but the mismagius just cackled. The girl rolled her eyes but gave Damara a proud smile. "Damara that was perfect, you're doing great." The ranger winked then looked to Raya. The lucario gave her trainer a nod and a small smirk. The steel jackal was completely unfazed by the ghost's antics. The ranger looked between Loki and Raya.

"Alright we'll do Mystical Fire again. Raya you'll counter with an Aura Sphere." She informed them. Raya nodded in confirmation though Loki sulked. However the ghost huffed then began spinning up another Mystical Fire. Raya and Liz shared a look as the ghost focused on the fiery attack. The lucario began moving forward then into a sprint. She bent her knees then kicked off from the ground leaping upward and above the mismagius. Raya quickly charged up the Aura Sphere then released a sudden wave of fighting energy.

Loki's eyes went wide and the Mystical Fire fizzled out as he panicked not having expected this. Before he could react the Aura Sphere was released and slammed right through him. Loki gawked then looked around baffled before suddenly remembering fighting type moves had no affect on him. The ghost scowled angrily and began berating the lucario in annoyance for scaring him. Raya just smirked and Liz covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. It was all in good fun playing a prank on the family trickster. Loki flipped upside down and blew a raspberry at both Raya and Liz as he quietly sulked for being caught off guard.

---

[Elizabeth Waters]

word count: 847(+1927=2774)

Liz grinned and shook her head at the mischievous spirit then turned and knelt down to Cecylia's level. She stroked the pikachu's head and closed her eyes releasing her psychic connection to all but Raya and Cecylia. The girl needed to focus solely on the pikachu for the next phase of training she had in mind. Raya, well, she never disconnected from Raya when the lucario was with her. Plus she would need the steel jackal's assistance with her plan.

"Alright you two. We're going to try something a little different. It'll be you and me Cecylia. We'll be working together to overcome various obstacles. I'll provide you with as much as I can visually but I will need you to trust me okay?" She informed the electric mouse who leaned into her hand and gave her a gentle static buzz of agreement. The pikachu's trust in the ranger was probably stronger than the majority of her pokemon, largely due to how they met and Liz saving her life, plus her having to rely more on Liz than any of her other pokemon.

The girl nodded then stood and turned to Raya. "Okay, let's see if we can't get a little bit faster together. Raya I need you to fire off Aura Sphere after Aura Sphere. The goal here is for Cecylia and I to work on our speed and agility." The lucario gave a sharp nod then waited for Liz's signal. The others stepped back to watch how things played out, Loki preferring to watch upside down. Liz and Cecylia took up position down a ways from Raya. The lucario was positioned off to the side and would begin firing Aura Spheres from the moment they began to move.

Liz closed her eyes and focused her thoughts on Cecylia. Using the link she provided a rough mental image of what she saw to the pikachu. They'd be connected like this the whole run so Cecylia would have a general idea of what to expect up ahead. It was a straightforward path of grass that ended in some brush some fifty yards away. "We'll run to that brush there then double back, understood?" The ranger explained looking down to Cecylia to see if the pikachu was unsettled in anyway.

In response, Cecylia crouched low on all fours and sparks flicked from her cheek pouches. She was more than ready. Liz smiled softly then nodded and took up a running stance as well. "Okay, on three. One. Two... Three!" Both the girl and pikachu shot forward running as though their lives depended on it. Raya narrowed her eyes and released the first Aura Sphere which sped straight for Liz and Cecylia. "Dodge now!" Liz called as she leaped to the right while Cecylia moved left. They repositioned and didn't slow down continuing to run pell mell. The Aura Spheres kept coming, some only Liz had to worry about ducking to avoid. Successfully they reached the brush then spun around and raced back.

Then Raya mixed it up, aiming ahead of the pair. Liz sensed the abrupt change in Raya's mind but realized it was too late to alert Cecylia. The girl grunted and surged forward to catch up with the pikachu. She reached forward and grasped hold of her then dropped, rolling into a ball and cradling the electric mouse close to her body. She grimaced as she quickly got back to her feet. Raya hesitated but only for a second. Cecylia too seemed a tad confused but once Liz was back on her feet the pikachu was off again with Liz charging after and another Aura Sphere on their tails.

There was no stopping for a little tumble. Liz's time in the military taught her to brush off such things and roll with the punches. She trained just as hard as her pokemon and would do everything in her power to keep them safe during their training sessions. Not everything always went to plan and you had to be ready to respond and react to those bumps along the way. The ranger skidded to a stop as did Cecylia and both dropped to the ground panting. The girl laughed and scooped up the pikachu.

"Alright there Cee?" She inquired gently with a smile. The pikachu chuu'd and rubbed her cheek against Liz's. The ranger chuckled then sighed looking to Raya who'd jogged over to join them. The lucario offered her a hand and helped her trainer up. Liz brushed herself off then stretched. "Okay guys, let's take a walk to cool down then have a lunch break and rest a bit." She stated and the others nodded eagerly in agreement.

They'd all worked hard that day and Liz preferred not to over do it too much during their sessions as they were bound to have plenty. Everyone had a good basis to start from and hopefully it'd help them out a bit in battle. Liz too was feeling tired but good. She hoped these sessions would help strengthen herself and her bond with her pokemon as well.

Attempting to train skill Agility
Thread End

[Jae]

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Elizabeth Waters

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