Chapter 153: Pride
After warming up and spending a few minutes rehearsing the poses they would be performing, Jason, standing in the practice battlefield’s Trainer box, shouted, “Alright, Ren! Let’s do this…!”
“Okay…!” Ren responded, pumping her paws with determination before matching Jason’s timing as he performed a quick one-two punch with his left and right fists. Then, dropping and spinning on their right heels, they simultaneously swept their left foot a full 360 degrees before transitioning into a spinning, aerial uppercut. Landing brought them back on their right heel, a position that saw them spin a third time before punching out twice more.
Beginning with their leg sweep, Jason and Ren simultaneously shouted, “Gale…Force…Aura…!” to punctuate each of their poses. With their final punch, Jason experienced a sensation akin to being submerged in a pool of icy, carbonated liquid. At the same time, the cobalt-blue light that had spread from his Z-Ring to the rest of his body surged out in multiple arcs, feeding the black, cobalt-blue, and silvery-white Aura surging from Ren’s body like aggressive flames.
Feeling nearly as powerful as she was in her Terra Forme, Ren looked down at her upturned paws and gripped her fingers into tight, tingling fists.
Though he felt like he had just completed a marathon, Jason, wiping his brow with the back of his right forearm, asked, “How do you feel? If the information in Professor Kukui’s book is correct, you should feel twice as strong and fast. You have to be careful, though. The Aura will disperse as you attack, defend, or move around. It’s a powerful ability, but the boosts it grants are only temporary.”
“What should Ren do now…?” Ren questioned, glancing back at Jason with gleaming, cerulean-blue eyes. Based on how her tail was beginning to wag excitedly, it was apparent that she was less concerned with how her power worked than putting it to the test.
Before Jason could propose using the nearby weights and equipment to quantify Ren’s power increase, the Zinopup abruptly got up from where it had been observing them with a disinterested look. Her use of Gale Force Aura had evidently piqued its interest, as, after entering the battlefield, it squared its forepaws, lowered its head, and began emitting arcs of bluish-white electricity that danced between the bristly strands of its silver mane and caused its fur to become noticeably spikier.
Noticing the Zinopup’s actions from afar, Jason raised his right brow and asked himself, ‘Why is it only stepping up now? Did it think it was stronger than Ren before…?’
Though the Zinopup’s behavior stirred many questions in his mind, Jason set aside his curiosity in favor of action, nodding curtly before stating, “It looks like our new friend here wants to experience your power for himself. Let’s give him a good battle.”
“Good battle…!” Ren repeated, punching her clenched right paw into the open palm of her left.
Ostensibly in response to Ren’s exclamation, the Zinopup began bounding forward, its longer and more muscular forelimbs giving it an uneven stride that allowed it to tuck its feet at the last moment before springing forward with the concealed spikes of its right shoulder.
CRASH
While taking care to hold back, Ren stood her ground and intercepted the Zinopup’s charge with a smack from her left paw, connecting with the right side of its face and pushing down. The Zinopup’s momentum caused her to slide back, forcing her to dig the usually concealed nails of her feet into the ground. Meanwhile, the force of her smack caused the Zinopup to faceplant into the ground—hard.
With Ren retracting her paw and stepping back, the Zinopup recovered almost immediately. The ridge of its right cheek had cut into the compact soil of the battlefield like it was tofu, but the Zinopup looked no worse for wear as it shook its head before attempting to pounce on Ren anew.
Trusting Ren not to take things too far, Jason watched as the Zinopup chased her around the battlefield like a young kitten attempting to play with a much larger cat. If compared from the tips of their snouts to the ends of their tails, the Zinopup’s and Ren’s proportions weren’t drastically different. But Ren’s bipedalism allowed her to tower over it, giving her the edge in mobility and redirecting the Zinopup’s attacks.
“Grrrrrr…”
Seemingly growing frustrated at its inability to land a hit, the Zinopup abruptly stopped, squared its shoulders, and began clawing at the ground with the sharp, ivory-white claws of its right paw. Despite how casual the movement appeared, its claws dug up the compacted soil with disturbing ease, reinforcing that the Zinopup possessed considerable strength for its size.
“RAOWRR-RR-RR-RR…!!!”
Just as Ren and Jason alike were wondering what it was preparing, the Zinopup abruptly stomped its right forepaw, raised its head in a waggling motion, and unleashed a sharp, quivering roar. At the same time, a bright, bluish-white pulse of energy erupted from its body, causing the air around it to glow brightly and electricity to arc between its body and the ground. Where the electricity impacted, tiny, charred potholes were formed. And at the end of its roar, the creamy beige spikes running along the Zinopup’s shoulders had opened slightly, allowing bluish-white energy to flow out of them as if they were exhaust ports.
‘It’s just like in the games. It generates and stores electricity as it moves. Then, when it’s angry, it unleashes it all at once to empower itself…’ Jason noted, his expression turning serious.
Proving Jason’s conclusion, the Zinopup charged at Ren with greater speed and momentum than before. She managed to sidestep and dodge to the side, but it had apparently anticipated this, the claws of its left paw digging into the ground as it swung its tail and turned on a dime. This was the same move that had caught Jason off guard, but Ren’s perception and physical abilities were far beyond his.
Seeing the Zinopup turning and preparing to pounce on her, Ren, without missing a beat, closed the distance between them and thwarted its attack with a closed-paw punch to the forehead.
BAMF
Not expecting Ren’s preemptive counter, the Zinopup’s electric-blue eyes widened before its chin collided with the ground, causing the electricity it was emitting to short and disperse. For the briefest of moments, its vision went black, followed by a searing, rapidly building pain radiating from the center of its forehead.
“Are you okay…?”
Reacting to Ren’s concerned query, the Zinopup opened its eyes, sat up, and stared at her with a neutral expression that seemed unconcerned by the blood leaking from its forehead and dripping down the right side of its snout.
Confused by the Zinopup’s unblinking, somewhat intense stare, Ren tilted her head, raised her paws, and asked, “Do you want Ren to heal you…?” in an uncertain tone.
low growling
Exhibiting no desire to continue the battle, the Zinopup emitted a low growl before looking past Ren and gesturing at Jason with its chin. The latter could evidently understand what it was saying, as her expression morphed from confused concern to a frown.
“You want to know why Ren follows someone weaker than her…?” Ren asked, prompting the Zinopup to raise its head, stare directly at her, and produce a series of low, irregular growls.
“Ren is strong because of Jason…” Ren asserted firmly, her frown deepening as she raised her right paw and clenched it into a fist. The flame-like Aura granted to her by Gale Force Aura had started to abate from natural dissipation. But as her emotions surged, it promptly flared back to life.
Staring at Ren’s fist, the Zinopup appeared to consider its next words carefully before abruptly standing up and walking past Ren, headed for Jason.
“Where are you going? If you attack Jason, Ren will protect him…” Ren warned, turning her body to follow the Zinopup’s movements, her eyes glowing an even brighter shade of cerulean. One of the benefits of Gale Force Aura was that it allowed her to keep Detect active without needing to focus Fighting-Type Energy into her eyes. It was simply on, sustained by the Aura enveloping her body.
“Grrrr-ru-ruu…”
Pausing to glance back at Ren, the Zinopup issued a series of low growls that evidently abated her concerns. The hostility she had been exhibiting disappeared completely, replaced by a happy smile as she posed with her paws behind her back and affirmed, “Nn~! If you train with Jason, we can become super strong together!”
‘Oh? Has it decided to trust me…?’ Jason wondered, his brows rising and an expectant look adorning his face as the Zinopup approached, sat right in front of him, and looked up.
Noticing the Zinopup’s serious, piercing gaze, Jason promptly decided, “It’s probably better to play it safe…” before taking a knee, placing him approximately at eye-level with the predominantly cobalt-blue Wyvern. He knew from their previous experiences how prideful the Zinopup could be, so he matched its seriousness, offering it a curt nod before affirming, “I will need to learn more about you first. But if you grant me your trust, I swear to help you obtain the strength you need to both return and reclaim your home…”
“…”
Instead of responding to Jason with words or a low growl, the Zinopup observed him for several tense moments before abruptly moving forward and extending its right paw. Jason was understandably caught off guard, but due to how casual its movements were, he didn’t resist as the Zinopup pushed him onto his back and placed the same, surprisingly weighty paw on his chest.
psssh
As Jason was attempting to make sense of the Zinopup’s actions, the wolf-like Wyvern left him stonefaced, his thoughts grinding to a halt as it suddenly raised its leg and began peeing on him. The thought that it was marking him immediately crossed his mind. But while it was presumably a good thing, it sure as hell didn’t feel good…
After leaving Jason soaked through from his diaphragm to his thighs with its exceedingly foul-smelling urine, the Zinopup removed its paw from his chest and began trudging toward the back wall of the battlefield. The wall was too tall for it to leap over, so, instead of trying, it used its inordinately sharp and powerful claws to scale it, leaving deep, prominent scars in the stone.
“…”
After rising to a seated position, Jason observed the Zinopup’s actions in silence. The smell of urea rising from his body was overwhelming, but he willed himself to appear calm as he said, “Follow him…and if he gets into trouble like this morning, do your best to signal for help before leaping in to lend it a hand…”
Realizing that Jason was talking to her, Ren, who had been staring down at his lap with a dazed expression, startled to awareness, her head tilted in confusion as she asked, “Jason wants Ren to follow Zinopup…?”
“I’m trusting you to follow him. Whether or not you go to gain experience is for you to decide…” Jason corrected, meeting Ren’s gaze and adopting a reassuring smile. He had been surprised to learn that she had gone out that morning. But since she had returned safely, he decided to trust in her rapidly developing judgment. Would he regret it if she got into trouble and injured herself? Definitely. But if she were wholly dependent on him to act, Ren would be at an avoidable disadvantage if they were ever separated or forced to take independent action by circumstances beyond their control.
Sensing Jason’s trust in her, even if it was intermixed with a reasonable amount of concern, Ren’s expression lit up like the Alolan sun. She had been feeling somewhat guilty for leaving without his permission earlier that morning. Now that she was receiving it, Ren felt a mix of relief and excitement as she effortlessly scooped Jason up and gave him a firm, rib-compressing hug.
“Mmngh…I’m happy that you’re happy, Ren…but don’t forget that you’re currently much stronger than usual…” Jason groaned, doing his best to endure Ren’s vice-like embrace without crying aloud.
“Nn. Ren is sorry,” Ren expressed, releasing her hold on Jason and staring down at his stained abdomen as she added, “But Jason smells really good right now…”
“Good…?” Jason repeated, his tone matching the incredulity that adorned his face.
“Nn…very good…” Ren affirmed, leaning forward, closing her eyes, and sniffing at the urine coating Jason’s body as if it were the most fragrant thing she had ever sniffed. She even booped him, her nose sticking to his shirt as she took a notably deep inhale—her tail wagging with increased excitement or, as realization donned upon Jason, agitation…