Training Techniques

	The Gardevoir was walking.  Honestly, she'd lost track of how far she'd gone, by this point.

	She looked around, a small gust of wind blowing her slightly shredded dress about.  In three directions, there were endlessly roaming fields, rolling hills, the occasional stream breaking up the solid green carpet.  And in front, a forest - albeit not the thickest of forests.  The sun was dancing through the sky, hidden behind a sea of clouds.

	The Gardevoir smiled, permitting herself to take in the beauty of her surroundings for a moment.  But it wasn't enough to really help her relax - not really.

	"Galen..." She said to herself, aloud.  "What are you missing?"

	Sighing, she continued walking forward.  It'd actually been awhile since she trained last - very much an abnormality for this particular Gardevoir.  She had, after all, reached a plateau... weeks and weeks of no improvement at all.

	She'd tried pushing herself harder, tried utilizing new techniques, even tried offhand for a time to develop a new style.  But the more she focused, the less she seemed to improve - the feeling of learning was gone entirely.  Perhaps she - 

	"Hmm?"  She spun - at some point amidst her thoughts, she'd ended up in the forest.

	Her eyes landed on the source - a small ledian, who was whimpering.  He seemed visibly terrified - of what, Galen couldn't be sure.

	<What's wrong?>

	The Ledian leapt into the air in fright as the sound entered his head.  He gave a spin - and froze, noting Galen for the first time.

	<Wait!>  Galen stepped forward - feeling a little bad for startling the creature.  <I'm not here to harm you!>

	She was actually a little surprised when the Five Star Pokémon halted.  He broke down, tears pouring from his eyes as he floated to the forest's floor.

	Slowly, she walked towards him.  From this distance, she could tell that he was crying out of fear, not pain.  Was this just a child?

	"C-c-c-c-can y-you h-help me?"

	<What's wrong?> The response was not quite as elegant as a normal Gardevoir's, but it had the same effect.  The Ledian looked up at the gentle soul - tears in his eyes.

	"He... he's really really hurt! I d-d-don't know what t-to do, and - "

	<He? Show me.>

	Obediently, the Ledian soared away - flying through the woods, Galen following as best she could.  She was quick - and glad for it, as the bug flew left and right as swiftly as he flew forward - permitting him to blitz around trees as though they weren't there.  Still, she managed to keep up - at least that part of her more physical training shining true.

	<Oh!>

	Shifting, she fell to her knees. It was a machoke - one lying on the ground, bruised, battered, and bleeding in several places.  He was breathing, but each breath was extremely shallow.

	She just watched him, for a frame of time.  She'd hurt herself several times amidst her training - and she could tell that many of these wounds were far more thorough than most things she'd done to herself.  What on earth...

	<What happened?>

	The Ledian's voice wavered. "I... I d-dunno.  I was moving for berries when he shoved me into a diglett's burrow. He said... he said to keep out of sight, and then..."

	The Ledian trailed off.  Galen exhaled, placing one hand on the miniature creature.  She hated pushing the memory further, but... <And then?>

	"Then... then the ground rumbled.  And I think it felt like a tornado - lots of tornadoes.  And the machoke was yelling in pain and the ground kept shaking and I heard trees being knocked over and I was so scared that I just stayed here and when all the noises stopped I peeked outside and he looks really hurt and I think he fought off whatever that was and - "

	<Shh... thank you.>  Galen said, gently, trying to calm the small creature down.  She turned to the unconscious machoke, reaching her mind out to his.  <Hey! Hold on!>  She could feel his mind there, just bruised.  He was still alive!

	"Will... will he be..."

	Galen nodded.  <I'll see if I can help him.  I wonder what creature it was that attempted to - >

	An enormous burst of wind cut off her mental query.  She recoiled, holding her hands up to shield her face, as she heard the Ledian's cry of astonishment.

	"I knew if I left that bug alone, I'd get a better meal!"

	The voice echoed throughout what was now a clearing, as the concentrated burst of wind had blasted several of the trees there to splinters.

	Galen could only stare at the enormous creature before her.  It was enormous - soft white wings, a long white tail, blue patterns throughout.

	And a smirk on her face.

	"A little short, for a Gardevoir, but you'll do."  The creature said, almost conversationally.

	Galen didn't quite have time to get to her feet as wind - a horizontal pillar of wind - blasted into her.  Her shriek of astonishment was drowned out by the roar of air as she was lifted off the ground, the wind plastering her into a thick tree trunk - the force against the wood tore a bit of natural fabric from her dress.

	The Lugia - the name suddenly registered in Galen's head - watched stoically as Galen gasped for air.  Slowly, she staggered to her feet.

	"Ha! Got a little bite left in you after all.  But the second - "

	Her rant was interrupted as Galen weaved a short pattern in the sky in front of her. Psychic energy formed, and was released in a burst.  "Confusion!" She called out, the action forcing air into her lungs.

	She froze.

	And swiftly leapt to one side, as she felt rather than saw her attack dispersed.  The area she'd just been standing shuddered as the Lugia's far more powerful psychic attack rocketed where the Gardevoir’s head had just been - Galen's assault seemed feeble in comparison.  It was also a psychic pokémon?!

	"Don't worry, honey, I like my girls with spice."  The Lugia flew upwards, just a touch.  "You'll be mine soon enough."
	Galen reacted, almost without thinking first.  As the Lugia fired the next aeroblast through the trees, she dashed underneath - her reduced size proving an advantage.  The Lugia's eyes widened as the Gardevoir leapt at her physically, Galen's arm glowing with psychic energy.
	It connected.
	Galen found herself knocked away from the Lugia - but she knew she'd driven that attack home.  Utilizing both her physical and psychic capabilities, she flipped to her feet, returning to her fighter's pose.
	"You're a lucky little Gardevoir."  Gone was the Lugia's playful demeanor, replaced by anger.  "You won't get lucky again."
	Galen kept moving as the Lugia stepped things up a notch.  The forest area would never be the same - the tunnels of air destroyed dozens of trees in their wake, and the Lugia was sending blast after blast towards the mobile psychic pokémon.  Galen was playing up the Lugia's anger, waiting for just the right - 
	There!
	Dashing forward, Galen leapt into the air in an uppercut - psychic-boosted fist slamming into the Lugia's jaw.  The Lugia recoiled in pain as Galen hit the ground, shifting to go back to movement.
	The aeroblast caught her in the side, tumbling her painfully along the ground.
	"Urgh." Galen cringed from pain - she hadn't expected the Lugia to recover quite that quickly.  She pushed herself to her elbows - when a second aeroblast caught her now-raised head, arcing upwards and slamming her into one of the few trees that was still standing.
	She fell to the ground with a thump, cringing in pain.  Every part of her body ached - the Lugia's blasts seemed explicitly main to cause extra pain.  She could barely move, barely breathe.
	"Feisty little thing..." The Lugia shifted forward.  She was furious that this... this Gardevoir had managed to actually hurt her.  "But now..."
	Stars danced in Galen's head from the pain she was in, as it felt like she'd just dunked her head into a stream.  She shifted to pull herself out, as the moist feeling coated her neck.
	As it reached her shoulders, however, realization kicked in - she was being eaten.
	<No!> She cried out mentally, as a new reservoir of strength kicked in.  Frantically, she pulled backwards, shifting her arms to free herself.
	But the Lugia was stronger.  Galen, despite the ferocity of her struggles, found her shoulders slip into the Lugia's warm mouth.  Her arms were pinned to her side, preventing her from gaining enough room for a proper strike.
	As she sank in deeper, the warmth of the Lugia's mouth and throat proved taxing on her mind as well.  It was so warm... so comfortable.  The subtle throat movements were like a massage - massaging Galen's shoulders, her breasts, her arms.  Her eyelids became heavy, as the feelings continued - focusing on putting her to sleep.
	<N... no...>  Her mind became more and more hazy, as the rest of her was engulfed and swallowed.  Slowly, she sank down the Lugia's throat.
	Blissful sleep hit her before the end of the warm, comfortable passage.

	<NO!>
	Galen jerked up... and froze.
	She looked around wildly.  <Where...> She scrambled to her feet. <Where... where am I?>
	She was standing in the forest - not too far away from where she'd met the ledian in the first place.  But she couldn't... she was perfectly fine.  Her dress wasn't even any more torn than it had been.
	She stared down at herself, perplexed.  Had that all been a dream?  It felt... it felt so real.  The Lugia - the warm, comfortable passage down her throat.
	It was almost like she'd liked it.
	Confused, she sat down on a tree stump.  Had she focused further on it, she'd have noticed it had been blown apart - some of the shrapnel was visibly past it.
	But Galen was lost in thought.  The limit that she seemed to have reached had faded - new and creative training ideas flooded into her.  And whether it was a dream, or real, it had definitely given her something.
	A cause worth fighting for.

~ Garz.