Chapter 16: Labor 

The following morning, I found Dawn was already awake and her hair looked perfectly fine. She must have woken up early just to get it in order so I wouldn't see how supposedly horrible she looked when she first got up. 

Rolling my eyes, I got up, ate breakfast, and Dawn and I went our separate ways. 

"I've decided we should work on a different move to give you a break from Flamethrower." I put my hands in my pockets. "I was thinking Zen Headbutt."  

Bagon's head bobbed in approval. 

"It'll be fairly simple considering you already know Headbutt. All you need now is to learn about Psychic power. This comes from your mind, unlike the fire that comes from your belly. This is one of the easier Psychic attacks because your Psychic power is already inside your mind- all you need to do is project it in front of your skull." 

I then began to explain it in further detail. We meditated, and then began practicing Headbutt attacks on a large boulder before attempting Zen Headbutt. On his first try, a flicker of blue energy was created, which grew with every attempt. After an hour, he had a perfect Zen Headbutt attack. 

"Impressive," I complimented as he pounded another boulder nearby to pebbles. I hadn't thought he'd learn it that quickly. "Why don't we begin learning Dragon Claw while we're at it." 

Bagon eagerly listened to me lecture about the type and form the energy in his body would have to take in order to use the attack and then began focusing on punching a tree, which proved difficult with his short arms. 

"Imagine the energy extending past your arm, Bagon. Focus." 

With another quick leap at the rock, his arm glowed, but didn't do any more damage than just punching the rock would have. 

I crossed my arms. "Again." 

Another hour later, he was making reasonable progress. His arm would glow and pieces of rock would chip away at the blow. 

"That will do. Let's go eat lunch before resuming." We headed back to camp, ate some sandwiches with Dawn, and discussed her progress.  

Dawn slumped forward as we finished eating. "We're trying to learn Ice Beam. Do you have any idea how hard Ice Beam is to learn!?" 

Piplup sat in her lap, staring at the ground sadly. 

"It's not your fault, Piplup," she reassured him quickly. "It's just a hard move, that's all. We'll get it with some more practice." 

I rolled my eyes. "What Piplup needs is a challenge and to stop feeling bad for himself." 

Dawn straightened up and glared at me. "Oh yeah? Is that why Bagon has learned Flamethrower already, because you challenge him?" 

Fury boiled inside me.  

"Get up," I barked at Dawn. 

"Huh?" She looked at me with confusion. 

"Get up and battle. You're weak and the only way to fix that is through fighting. Like I said, your Piplup will never get stronger if you don't challenge him. All you want is to make a pretty Ice Beam sculpture, just like your Buneary does. How's that going to win any battles?" I crossed my arms. 

She seemed so stunned by my speech that she couldn't think of a word to say in return. 

"Are you battling me or not, nitwit?"  

The insult seemed to bring some life back into her. She stood up and glared at me. "Oh, it's on." 

I smirked. "Good luck. You'll need it." 

"Piplup, show him that you're tougher than he thinks," Dawn's voice was stern. 

"Bagon, you could take down that blubbery blue penguin any day." 

Piplup began chirping insults and waving his flippers angrily at me and I was surprised he didn't begin attacking. Dawn seemed much calmer and quieter than usual, which I raised an eyebrow at. 

I knelt in front of Bagon, who stared at me with curiosity. "This is your first battle, I know. I refuse to lose to them and you're a hundred times stronger than any of Dawn's Pokemon. Just like in training, if you do exactly what I say, you will win. I don't care if you think you can't do what I ask, just do it." 

Bagon's eyes flashed with fear before hardening with determination. He stood in our makeshift field, facing Piplup who kept bouncing from foot to foot, looking anxious to prove himself. 

"Piplup, Bubblebeam!" Dawn called. 

"Dodge it."  

Piplup's stream of bubbles raced towards Bagon, who dodged each one just barely- just as I had taught him. Quick, short movements. Piplup stopped suddenly, angered. 

"Try a Whirlpool!" Dawn yelled. 

I smirked. "Zen Headbutt." 

As Piplup was trying to form the Whirlpool, Bagon slammed into him, causing the water to fall harmlessly to the ground. Piplup was thrown to the ground ten feet away, struggling to get up as Bagon remained standing, his expression impassive. 

Dawn frowned. 

"That attack takes so long to form that it's useless," I explained. 

"Peck!" Dawn replied. 

"Block it with Dragon Claw," I said, feeling on edge. 

I had hoped that Bagon, without thinking, would just execute the move without worrying that he hadn't accomplished an actual Dragon Claw yet. Competition did that to us all- freeing us of our insecurities, forcing us to act. 

Piplup ran at Bagon, whose arm glowed. Piplup's beak extended a couple inches and Bagon raised his arm to block the attack head on. As Piplup made impact, Bagon shielded himself with his right glowing arm, but was pushed backward by the force of the blow. Grunting, he sidestepped Piplup without an order and used Ember on his back. Piplup squealed, though the move didn't do much damage. 

Hmph. At least he knows how to get himself out of trouble. I thought. 

"Now use Bite," I ordered. 

Bagon's teeth extended and he bit onto Piplup's back. Piplup cried out, trying to shake off Bagon whose limbs were airborne from the force of the struggle, but failed. Since Bagon was directly behind Piplup, there was no way Piplup could attack and I saw Dawn struggling to come up with a command from across the field. 

"Let him throw you up into the air," I said suddenly.

Bagon, without hesitation, let go as Piplup swung him around again. He soared into the air. 

"Zen Headbutt."

Bagon's head glowed blue as he dived towards the earth, straight above the still dazed Piplup. 

"Bubblebeam!" Dawn cried, but it was too late. 

Bagon slammed into Piplup, who fell to the ground in a cloud of dust. 

"Oh no. Piplup, are you ok?" Dawn asked, looking ready to run out and scoop up her pathetic little Pokemon. 

"Nice work, Bagon," I murmured so only he could hear me. I saw the smirk on his face. He stood tall, proud of his power. 

Piplup struggled to get off the ground, but did end up standing, panting heavily. He glared at Bagon. 

"You want to keep battling, Piplup?" Dawn asked hesitantly. 

Piplup didn't say anything, but remained standing and stared viciously at his opponent. 

"Hard to tell if you're just being brave or stupid now." I sighed, then said, "Bagon, finish him off." 

Bagon's head was about to glow when Dawn said, "Use Ice Beam!" 

Come again? 

Piplup opened his beak and it was obvious that he'd finally succeed in launching his new attack. Instantly, I yelled, "Flamethrower!" 

Bagon's mouth opened too, just as Piplup's Ice Beam began making its way toward him. Bagon let loose a stream of fire, meeting the ice halfway. The attacks were short and both seemed evenly matched. An explosion from the impact of fire and ice blew a cloud of dust up. The dirt slowly dissipated as it was whipped away by the breeze.  

As it cleared, Bagon and Piplup were both still standing, unhurt from the last move. They had both learned a new attack, oddly enough. I smirked- this was actually getting interesting. 

"Wow, you did it Piplup!" Dawn squealed. I rolled my eyes. 

Piplup stood up proudly for a second, chest puffed out, before falling backwards. He had fainted. 

"Oh no." Dawn ran over to Piplup and hugged him to her body. "You ok?" 

"P'lup." Piplup opened his eyes a bit and smiled weakly. 

"You still did it!" Dawn cheered. "You learned Ice Beam!" 

I walked past Bagon, meeting his eyes, and gave him a curt nod of approval. His eyes sparkled as he followed me over to Dawn. "You still have a lot of work to do." 

Dawn looked up at me curiously, but said nothing. 

I continued with a slight pause, "We should battle more often. Pokemon, like humans, get better when there's someone to compete with. If not for this battle, we'd be much farther behind in our training." 

Dawn nodded, seeming unable to speak. I smirked, wondering if she was always this quiet after losing. 

"Come on, Bagon," I said sharply. "We're going to work on your Dragon Claw." 

Bagon's short legs followed me through the forest, leaving Piplup and Dawn in their little loser bubble.

Before Bagon and I did any training, we sat facing each other, meditating over what had just happened during the battle. Our eyes were closed. 

"Your speed has improved," I commented. "And I'm impressed by the way you threw Piplup forward when your Dragon Claw failed." 

I heard Bagon's quiet breathing pause as he waited for me to finish. 

"But yet, you did fail," I said. "Your Dragon Claw needs work." I opened my eyes to stare at him. His eyes were closed shut tightly as he concentrated. I felt a tinge of anxiety- really, did he deserve intensive training after a battle like that? He had won. He had used Flamethrower, though it still needed a lot of work.

His Dragon Claw, however, was unacceptable.

"We will train Dragon Claw until dinner," I said. "And tomorrow morning, we will take a break from training to rest and think even further upon what we have learned today. You will not tell Dawn of our break. Understood?" 

Bagon nodded stiffly. 

"Now open your eyes, stand up, and hit this tree with a Dragon Claw." 

An hour passed as Bagon hammered away at various trees, though he still couldn't execute the attack. I then used Weavile to help speed the process along. Weavile would use Metal Claw, darting out from the foliage with his amazing speed, forcing Bagon to work both on his speed and his Dragon Claw to block the Metal Claw. The attacks always came at unexpected places and Bagon was forced to wait, focus, and listen to his surroundings. Every time he failed, he was hit ruthlessly by Weavile. 

"Extend your arm farther, Bagon." He growled at my comment, and I knew he was furious at both himself and me. "I know your arms are short, just do it!" 

Angered, he listened for his opponent. Weavile was hidden in a tree above him, getting ready to strike. As Weavile nimbly jumped downward, Bagon's arm finally glowed and extended, hitting Weavile before he could execute his attack. 

Bagon huffed, exhausted from being attacked so many times, and collapsed. 

"We're done for today," I confirmed. "Half of tomorrow will be dedicated to recovering from the today's training." 

With that, I began walking. I heard Weavile help Bagon stand up and their movements along the path as we headed back for dinner.