Hitting the Gym! (Miyuki's Training Thread)

[Miyuki Kinoshita]

So here she was; one of the training areas found in each of the region's various Pokemon Centers. All it took was a quick registration and she was granted access; an area with all sorts of training equipment designed for helping train Pokemon. After giving her Pokemon some time to rest after their last outing and teaching her newest Pokemon some new moves, she was eager to put the Dragon-type through her paces and see what she can really do now that she had some offensive power.

Needless to say, Miyuki was quite pleased when she learned that this Pokemon, apparently called Jangmo-o, did indeed evolve into the Pokemon she'd seen from her father's friend a while back; Hakamo-o. It even had a third evolution that was even greater, known as Kommo-o. The names were a little weird, but they didn't make Miyuki any less thrilled to have caught one. Especially since they're apparently fairly rare; according to the Ranger she spoke to, she was quite lucky in finding one so soon after beginning her journey.

Either way, as she looked around, she spotted what appeared to be a massive stone pillar; according to the plaque next to it, it's extremely sturdy, making it great for trying out moves and allowing Pokemon to cut loose and attack with all they've got. Perfect. Sending out her Jangmo-o, she was quick to give out some orders. "See that pillar over there? I want you to hit it as hard as you can with Dragon Claw and Headbutt. Alternate between the two, and keep going until I say stop."

Though a little confused at first, the Jangmo-o went through with the command; first, her claws would be cloaked in a bright green energy that almost (but not quite) resembled a flame, upon which she'd slash at the pillar. Then, she'd take a step back and slam her forehead into it. From there, she'd repeat this process over and over again. As she got more into it, her attacks became more potent as she stopped unconsciously holding back; ultimately, she kept it up for close to an hour.

Miyuki smiled. Although she was curious to see how hard the Jangmo-o could hit, but she was also curious as to what the limits of her stamina would be. This would be very helpful in training her in the future. "Great job, Scale! That's enough. Let's get you cleaned up and get some rest. You've certainly earned it."

[Will]

Alright! Training time! Let's-

O-oh. Well, you'll get the hang of it one day Chus.
You on the other hand did amazing!
500 has bee applied to your account and you can add this experience to your freshly trained Pokémon

[Miyuki Kinoshita]

After a bit of training in the wild, Miyuki was able to teach some new moves to each of her Pokemon. In particular, she was eager to put the move she taught to her Riolu through its paces; especially since it was likely to be useless in the next area she was planning on going to for more catching and training. So she wanted to see it in action here and get a good idea of how strong it would be. Looked like it was another trip to the extra large pillar.

Once she was out of her Poke Ball, and now that Miyuki wasn't in the middle of a heat-of-the-moment, Goldie couldn't help but frown when she noticed Miyuki hesitate a bit. Not fond of dog-like Pokemon, it usually took Miyuki a moment to steel herself when dealing with the Riolu. But she always made a point of assuring the small Fighting-type that it wasn't anything personal; just some childhood trauma that she was still dealing with. Hopefully, little by little, she'd get over this.

"Alright, Goldie; I want you to attack that large pillar with Shadow Claw! As hard as you can, and keep going until I say stop! When we're done, I want that move to feel just as natural to you as all of your other attacks!" The Riolu nods as she approaches the pillar, a ghostly energy wrapping around both of the creature's small paws, each taking the shape of large claws. Moving in towards the pillar, the Riolu began slashing at it with these new claws.

This kept going and, as the small Pokemon kept slashing away, she began to grow a little more used to what had otherwise been a very unnatural (but not all around unpleasant) feeling. It wasn't quite at the level of it feeling as natural as it would with his other, naturally-learned attacks, but it was slowly getting there. Of course, it wouldn't take long for fatigue to set it. But for the moment, Miyuki was pleased with the progress she was making.

"That's good for now. Great job, Goldie! This'll be a great secret weapon for dealing with Ghost-types!" The Riolu smiled brightly, happy to receive the praise. Thus, the two of them set off, both pleased with how the training session turned out.

[Will]

Alright! Training time! Let's-

O-oh. Well, you'll get the hang of it one day Chus.
You on the other hand did amazing!
500 has bee applied to your account and you can add this experience to your freshly trained Pokémon

[Miyuki Kinoshita]

Once again, Miyuki was headed for the training center. The first couple of times she came here, she had her newest catches (at the time) try out some new moves. But from here on out, it was time for her to start seriously training and focusing on her Pokemon one at a time. To the time being, she decided that her Tepig would be the one she focuses on, since she was admittedly the most eager to see him evolve. When she looked up what he evolved into, mere words could not convey how much she wanted an Emboar.

Not that Breloom, Lucario or Kommo-o weren't great too, but there was just something about Emboar that struck a chord with her. Either way, she had a good idea of what she wanted to work on today. While he was a physical powerhouse, he was noticable less so with long-ranged moves. Granted, the only one he knew at the moment was Flamethrower, but even so. It had a lot of raw power, but that was it. Once he evolved and became more powerful, physical attacks were likely going to come more naturally.

Which is why she didn't want him to lose his edge for long-range attacks once that happened. His Special Attack wasn't by any means bad after all. Just overshadowed by his physical strength. All the same, she wanted him to get used to using them, if only so he doesn't get rusty in case she ends up teaching him more down the line. So it was time for some target practice! "Alright, King Bacon. See those targets over there? Hit 'em with Flamethrower. And try to break 'em with one shot."

The Tepig nodded. Now that he thought about it, he'd ever actually had to attack anything from a distance; most of the time, he just used Flamethrower at close range, so it was hard not to be intimidated by this exercise. But Miyuki gave him a reassuring smile. She wouldn't have him try to do this if she wasn't positive he could pull it off. So he inhaled deeply, and released a powerful jet of flames from his nostrils. It barely missed the mark though, only singing the side of the target a bit.

But with Miyuki's encouragement, he tried again, actually hitting it this time. It was off-center, but otherwise a solid hit. More targets would pop up, and this continued for a while. The more blasts he fired, the more used to it he got, and the better his aim was. Before long, almost every shot he fired was dead center. Soon, she realized that her time was almost up, so she called out to her Tepig. "Great job! Let's call it a day!"

[Will]

Alright! Training time! Let's-

O-oh. Well, you'll get the hang of it one day Chus.
You on the other hand did amazing!
750 has bee applied to your account and you can add this experience to your freshly trained Pokémon

[Miyuki Kinoshita]

She could feel it. She wasn't sure how or why she could feel it, but there was something in her gut telling her that her Tepig was close to evolving. She'd probably have to go out and fight some wild Pokemon, but she figured, if nothing else, a quick training session would bring him one step closer to reaching his second stage and gaining the much coveted (for Miyuki anyway) Fighting-type. This time, she decided to focus on his physical abilities.

"Alright, King Bacon, we're doing things a little differently this time around. Instead of attacking from a range, we're instead going in close and personal. Alternate between using Rollout, Wild Charge, Take Down and Zen Headbutt to break as many of the targets as you can. They'll keep popping up as you go, so don't worry about running out; just make sure you don't lose your momentum once you gain it. I wanna shoot for a total of 50 targets today!"

The Tepig nodded confidently, and charged in. Sparks flew (quite literally in a few instances) as the Tepig moved from one target to the other, crashing through it with powerful tackles, electrified rams, fast-moving rolls and psychically-enhanced headbutts. It didn't take long for the pig to hit his stride, and was quickly and efficiently smashing through the targets like nothing. It didn't take long for fatigue to catch up with him though. Eventually, the Tepig had enough, and collapsed; still conscious, but exhausted.

Rushing to his side, Miyuki was relieved when he didn't appear to be hurt in any way; just too worn out to move. However, she quickly noticed the look of supreme disappointment on his face. It was then that she looked at the electronic scoreboard keeping track of the number of targets he had managed to destroy; he'd fallen just short of reaching the goal of 50, having stopped at 46. However, Miyuki could only smile at the Pokemon. "Excellent job. You were so close, and I know you'll nail it next time."

This ended up being enough to cheer the pig up, and Miyuki promptly scooped him up into her arms, not bothering with returning him to his Poke Ball. "Let's find somewhere extra nice to eat. You've definitely earned it."

[Will]

Alright! Training time! Let's-

O-oh. Well, you'll get the hang of it one day Chus.
You on the other hand did amazing!
750 has bee applied to your account and you can add this experience to your freshly trained Pokémon

[Miyuki Kinoshita]

With her Tepig evolving, it was time to focus on her Shroomish. She didn't have a specific plan in mind yet. Since his repertoire of offensive moves were rather limited at the moment, she was planning to teach him some new moves; she just wasn't sure which moves she was going to teach him yet. So far, her main strategy was "put the enemy to sleep with spore then wail on them with super-effective attacks, but something about that type of fighting didn't sit well with her.

She didn't necessarily have anything against that sort of battling, and she wasn't above using it herself (at least, when facing wild Pokemon). She was just more of an in-your-face type of person. Probably came with growing up quite literally surrounded by martial artists and Fighting-type Pokemon. The sleep strategy was fine for fighting off territorial wild Pokemon, but she wouldn't feel right using it against an actual trainer. Thus, she just wanted to get a feel for what he could do right now.

"We're gonna do the same kind of training we did with King Bacon last time. I want you to alternate between using Seed Bomb, Headbutt and Wake-up Slap. Break as many of the targets as you can. Not gonna worry about a specific number just yet; for now, just focus on getting as many as you can." The Shroomish nodded. He knew he wasn't as physically adept as Miyuki's Pignite even before he evolved, so he didn't feel as though she was insulting him with the less intensive training.

Either way, he immediately went to work, headbutting, "slapping", and blasting the various targets in the area, which continuously replaced themselves as he went along. As he attacked the targets, he found himself getting into a more of a groove, allowing him to strike more efficiently while better preserving his momentum. Soon, their time was starting to run out, and the Shroomish was looking rather worn out. When Miyuki took a look at the scoreboard for the area, she smiled lightly.

"39...not gonna lie, that's better than I was expecting. Great job, Cappy! You've definitely earned a good rest. Let's get something to eat." The Shroomish puffed up proudly, grateful for the compliment, and the two of them continued along their way.

[Van]

-----------------------------------
Uhhh...
Don't worry about him. He'll be fine. Maybe.
-----------------------------------

You got them sweet gains! 750P will be added to your account and your Pokemon has gotten a little stronger!

[Miyuki Kinoshita]

Miyuki let out a soft sigh. Training her Shroomish was beginning to become a bit monotonous, due in large part to the fact that, until it evolves, its movepool is rather limited. Sure, she could teach him a few special moves (and even then, there still aren't many to choose from), but those moves would just end up being replaced anyway once he evolves, since Breloom's physical prowess is more than double that of its proficiency with Special moves. Or so she'd read.

Either way, it was making it difficult to train him in meaningful ways without basically doing the same thing over and over again. But at least for now, she had something in mind. As for what she would do next time, well, she could come up with something when that time came. No use in worrying about it now. Either way, she made her way to a target practice area; three rows of moving targets, each moving at a different speed and quite a distance away. She was going to focus on long-ranged attacks.

By which we mean Seed Bomb, since that one the only one he knew. "See those targets? We're gonna keep this one simple; from right where you are, try to hit as many of them as you can with Seed Bomb. I've set the score keep to only keep track ones that take a direct hit, meaning the ones that get caught in any explosions won't count. Let's see how many you can hit." The Shroomish nodded and readied himself. Once he had the targets in sight, he stated firing.

First, he focused on the closest and slowest-moving ones. Naturally, they were quite easy, and he had little trouble landing almost every hit. There were a couple misses here and there, but he still nailed the majority of them. Soon, the front row stopped producing targets altogether, meaning he now had to aim for the middle row; it was going the opposite direction of the other two, and was a bit faster and farther away than the first row. Needless to say, it was a bit more challenging.

It took a few tries and several misses but he was beginning to get the hang of it; slowly-but-surely, he was able to get into the proper groove and get the timing down. Soon, he was hitting nearly every target he fired on, just as easily as he was with the first row. The real trouble came when it was time for the third row. They were the farthest away and moved the fastest. He was having quite a lot of trouble getting the hang of this one; he simply wasn't able to keep up with it.

He did manage to hit some, but more than half of the shots he made were misses. Eventually, he got tired, and couldn't go on anymore. Still, he did quite well; despite missing most of the fast ones, he still managed to get a solid 10-15 hits; Miyuki admittedly lost count, but it was still impressive. "Good job, Cappy. And don't worry about that last set. If we keep up at this rate, you'll be able to nail those targets in no time!" The Shroomish smiled widely, grateful for the encouragement.

After that, it was time to head off. All in all, a pretty productive session.

[Will]

Alright! Training time! Let's-

O-oh. Well, you'll get the hang of it one day Chus.
You on the other hand did amazing!
750 has bee applied to your account and you can add this experience to your freshly trained Pokémon

[Miyuki Kinoshita]

Although she felt that her Shroomish was close to evolving, she already had other plans for giving him the last push he'd need before evolving into a Breloom. So instead, she decided to shift gears and focus on training her Riolu a bit. That said, it was going to be a bit on the dull side by having her take on practice dummies. She had done this a few times already, but it was really the only thing she could think of at the moment. Especially since her Riolu was a purely melee fighter right now.

She had heard that its evolved form, Lucario, received a huge boost in Special Attack upon evolving, to the point that it was actually slightly higher than its Attack, but right now, physical was the only route worth taking. She'd keep Lucario's potential as a mixed attacker in mind for when it evolved, of course, but right now, she wanted to focus on its physical prowess and speed. Thus, once she stepped into the training field, several dummies popped up, surrounding her.

"Alright, Goldie. I want you to alternate between Force Palm, Blaze Kick and Shadow Claw to attack these dummies. Let's see how many you can destroy in...let's say ten minutes. After that, we'll rest for a bit and do it again. I'm not gonna give you a set number to destroy. You only goal is to destroy more in the second go-around. Alright?" The Riolu nodded, admittedly a bit daunted by the task but no less willing to go through with it. Taking a deep breath, she began.

Charging in with burning kicks, shadowy claws and chi-infused palm strikes, the Riolu went about attacking and destroying as many of the dummies as she could. It was difficult at first; she was rushing herself too much, trying to break as many as she could as quickly as she could, but she was getting sloppy. But once she let herself calm down and got into the groove, she seemed to be doing better; getting clean hits and overall just attacking more efficiently.

Once the ten minutes were up, she'd managed to break 21 dummies. Not bad, considering the somewhat slow start. After letting her rest for a bit to regain her stamina, Miyuki nodded. "Alright then. Round two!" Now refreshed and ready to go again, the Riolu readies herself to take on the challenge once more. As expected, this time went a lot smoother. Remembering how it felt when she finally got into the right groove, she moved efficiently from the start, destroying dummies left and right.

Once it was over, she had managed to destroy and impressive 34. The Riolu was visibly shocked, but Miyuki knew the small Fighting-type had it in her. "Great job, Goldie! Let's get out of here and get something to eat. You've earned it!" Thus, with another bout of training out of the way, the two set off.

[Will]

Alright! Training time! Let's-

O-oh. Well, you'll get the hang of it one day Chus.
You on the other hand did amazing!
750 has bee applied to your account and you can add this experience to your freshly trained Pokémon

[Miyuki Kinoshita]

Once again, she was here to train her Riolu, who, like her Shroomish, she could feel was close to evolving, and just needed a quick push in the right direction to finally reach that point. The Riolu was, for now, as good as she was going to get in terms of offensive skills. She'd have plenty to learn once she evolved, but for the moment, she was set. So this time, Miyuki decided to mix things up a bit and focus on defense. She had just the thing in mind.

There was a boxed-in area with multiple cannon-like objects that shot baseball-sized projectiles at the Pokemon. They were padded in a way that getting hit by them wouldn't harm the target too badly (they might be a bit stiff and sore later on, but that's it), but they moved with enough force that getting hit with one was still more than enough to knock you off your feet if you're not care...or, in Riolu's case, a little on the small side. Miyuki even checked ahead of time with staff to make sure it'd be safe.

She was given the green light, so here they were "Gonna keep this simple. Avoid getting hit as much as possible. You can try dodging or knocking them out of the air with an attack. Or, at the very least, if you do get hit, try bracing yourself so that you don't get knocked down; trust me when I say these things pack a punch." The Riolu nodded, getting into position and waiting for the training to start. Almost immediately, she's caught off guard by the speed of the projectiles, and knocked flat on her ass.

That said, it was just as Miyuki had heard. Despite packing a heavy punch, the balls didn't actually hurt since they were well-padded. Still, the Riolu didn't like that one bit, so she braced herself for the next one. At this point it was stubborn pride; she refused to dodge it or try to knock it out of the air. She was going to resist being knocked down by this thing. And she did. Barely. The force caused her to stagger, but she managed to remain on her feet.

Just long enough for another ball to be fired and nail her while she was off-balance. That knocked a bit of sense into her, and she started to take it more seriously. Instead, she materialized ghostly claws and began knocking them out of the air one by one. Some came too quickly after the previous one for her to be able to knock them out, but she quickly realized she had just enough time to sidestep those. Soon, she began noticing a pattern that encouraged both attacking and dodging.

It took a few tries, but she eventually managed to get into the right rhythm. Now, she was finally managing to last more than half a minute without getting hit by the balls, and had a fairly long streak going before long. Once time was up, the Riolu collapsed. She smiled lightly. "Good job. I realize that was a tough one, but I was positive you could pull it off~" For a second, Miyuki hesitated a bit, still a bit apprehensive over the Riolu's dog-like appearance.

But it didn't take long for her pride in the Pokemon to overrule her mild fear of dogs. Scooping the Riolu into her arms affectionately, she carried her out. She deserved to be pampered a bit.

[Will]

Alright! Training time! Let's-

O-oh. Well, you'll get the hang of it one day Chus.
You on the other hand did amazing!
750 has bee applied to your account and you can add this experience to your freshly trained Pokémon

[Miyuki Kinoshita]

With the successful evolutions of both her Shroomish and Riolu, Miyuki decided it was time to start training another one she felt was close to evolving; her Jangmo-o. She was eager to see this one evolve as she remembered a friend of her father's showing a Hakamo-o to them while visiting after training in a region called Alola. What's more, it could apparently evolve even after that stage, so she was quite curious as to what its final form looked like. But that could wait.

As she looked around, she spotted a familiar pillar; the one she used the first time she came here with her Jangmo-o. Call it nostalgia, but she decided that would be what they do again. Sending out her Jangmo-o, she nodded to the creature. "Alright! Same deal as last time; alternate between using Dragon Claw, Headbutt, and Iron Head and hammer away at this pillar. Keep it up for as long as you're able to!" The Jangmo-o nodded, remembering the last time they did this quite well.

As such, it didn't take her long to get into the groove of things, nor was it long before she was able to step her game up even more compared to their previous trip. Each hit was quick, efficient, and, most importantly, strong. In fact, the seemingly unbreakable pillar was starting to develop some cracks; the thing was hardly pristine, but her Jangmo-o was barely able to even scratch the surface last time; so to be able to add some new cracks to the pillar was a bit of a milestone.

At the end of the day, she even managed to last a lot longer; to the point where someone had to inform Miyuki that her time was almost up. Whoops. Needless to say, the whole session flew by rather quickly. It helped that it was rather fun to watch the small Dragon-type in action. That said, the Jangmo-o was starting to slow down a bit, exhaustion slowly beginning to catch up and take its toll. With a smile, she nodded quietly. "That's good, Scale! You've more than proven how much stronger you've gotten."

Thus, with that finished, she and her Jangmo-o cleaned up their mess and prepared to head out. She wasn't sure what she was going to do next; she could figure that out later. Right now, her Jangmo-o deserved a reward for her hard work.

[Lionheart]

Alright! Training time! Let's-

O-oh. Well, you'll get the hang of it one day Chus.
You on the other hand did amazing!
750 has been applied to your account and you can add this experience to your freshly trained Pokémon