[JOVI] MACH 13 ELEPHANT EXPLOSION

[byron]

You know what time it was?

Time to get pumped for the Pokeathelon. And with that, Gym Leader Byron let out his three tournament competitors. The first: the adorable Amber, a flightless Archen who could run and jump high enough to quality. The second: the wise Garnet, a Volcarona who had skill and jumping ability.

And then there was the last competitor, the reliable Shield the Bastiodon, whose Strength and Endurance could would hold the team together.

They wouldn't fail, right? Right.

With that, Byron began to let his Pokemon stretch and practice. It felt good to not have to do anything violent for once.

[jovi]

Jovi prowled around the training area. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to be here or not, slurping on her cotton candy, but she was anyway. Trainers of all sorts were around her, Pokemon unleashed, but she wasn't interested in them.

She edged away, toward where it was quieter, only a single man and his Pokemon about. Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, sugar crystals on her lips, she watched as his massive Bastiodon stretched, eyes wide.

[byron]

MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON

...

OK that aside.

Shield noticed the girl and turned, his eyes blinking. He took a step closer. Even giant shield-faced monstrosities still wanted attention!

This gathered Byron's attention. He turned, then grinned at Jovi. "Don't worry, he's friendly."

[jovi]

Jovi smiled as well in response, the expression automatic, and then bounded forward to place her hands on the Bastiodon's face, palms flat on the eyeridgetusks.

"Hello there," she said quite seriously. "My name is Jovi, and it's nice to meet you. You're very large, but I like you."

Then she turned around, stuck out a hand for Byron to shake. "Nice to meet you as well, sir."

[byron]

Shield made a low rumbling sound and lowered his massive shield head. Writing Bastiodons is weird.

Byron, in the meantime, grinned and rested against his Bastiodon's body. "His name is Shield. I'm Byron." He paused. "I need to run him around the track to warm up. Want to ride him?"

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[jovi]

Her eyes lit up, throat tight, and she nodded.

Scrambling up atop the Pokemon took some effort, and it was lucky that the Bastiodon was built so sturdily, because Jovi kicked and clawed quite a bit clambering up, but she managed it.

"How fast can he go?"

[byron]

Shield, being a calm thing, stood still while Jovi climbed up. His head was so tall that it was difficult even for even Byron to see over the top.

"He's not too fast, but you'll want to hold tight all the same." He then nodded at Amber and Garnet. "We'll do a lap for starters, all right? Then, Amber, we'll see how you handle it." The Volcarona buzzed and the Archen fluttered her wings, as if trying to fly. Then, with a snap, Byron took off down the track. Shield, Garnet, and Amber all followed along, Amber moving at a much slower pace and Garnet passing them all. Shield kept time with Byron, who kept a steady jog.

"Bastiodons aren't very fast," he said as he ran, "so they had to develop other ways of protecting their young. It's believed that their shields were an evolutionary technique, and from what we've observed from revived fossils, the bigger and thicker the shield on a Bastiodon's face, the more likely their children are to survive."

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[jovi]

Jovi tried her best to both make it clear to Byron that she was listening, and interested in what he was saying (and she really was!), and hang on to the Bastiodon. She didn't feel like she was in danger of falling, but she had the sinking instinct that the moment she got comfortable on the large Pokemon's back, something embarrassing would happen. Best to be vigilant then, and trick her fate.

"Ahh, that's really awesome," she said to Byron. "How old is this guy? How old are you, guy? Do you study pokemon, like a professor? My mom is a researcher in a lab, so I know a little bit, but not much."

She hesitated. The dream was so delicate, newly-hatched chick with damp wings, and she was reluctant to let it face the world but--

He didn't know her, or her brother, his hero's shadow and her plain, meager Jovi-ness. Her brilliant parents--dear mother and barely remembered father--so why not? What did she have to lose?

"I want to be a Pokemon Doctor one day," she confided, tone studied and nonchalant. "It's my goal in life. So I have to learn lots of things about Pokemon, get smart like you and mom."

[byron]

Byron smiled, keeping pace with his Bastiodon enough. Children asked so many questions, and sometimes they were rude. He simply had to learn to deal with it. "He's about twenty years old, give or take a few years. I'm twice as much, though I don't feel it most days."

His smile softened when she mentioned her dream. "It sounds like a nice goal. Don't give up on it, okay? I'm sure you'll be able to achieve it, Jovi."

[jovi]

"Don't worry," Jovi assured him. "You don't look forty years old. I wouldn't say you were that old. I would say you were...twenty-six years old! That's only four years older than my brother. And he's not old at all."