From Zero to Hero [Ezra's Dojo]

[Ezra D'Lange]

The only problem with the information Ezra D'Lange was given is the fact this Dojo is on an entirely different island. Which in turn, meant he had another trip to make by boat to another island. The sea sickness would be bad, but still, he went along on this journey to find this special dojo to train Kauri. The Oshawott in his arms now; the sea breeze had felt good, but eventually traveling through a couple of places, he made it to the Dojo. After a brief call with his Aunt Viola, there wasn't much else to do except go forward with his plans to strengthen Kauri. Prepping himself, he takes a deep breath going through Hindors Town and up to the dojo itself.

The dojo itself was a large building surrounded by the harsh landscape surrounding the town itself; surely covered in a small layer of dust in certain areas. His eyes scan the door itself, taking in the nice wooden appearance and smiling at the well maintained parts of the building itself. The entirety of it felt larger than him by a good margin. Opening the door, he's met with an older gentleman who seems to be the only one in the place. After a short conversation, he realizes the place isn't just a single place to train pokemon, but it's the place to train pokemon.

After the realization he had, Ezra had a larger choice to make with Kauri. His parents never really explained how they trained their pokemon, but it couldn't be that hard right? "Alright. Okay. Kauri, we should work on your speed. I think that'll be helpful for you." Kauri jumps out of his arms, excitedly moving around the area before Ezra smiles to the gentleman being allowed into an agility course of sorts. A deep breath as he looks at the place. Different rings, poles, and other sorts of obstacles are set up. There's a small pool that leads into a water course with rings higher and lower in the water. Carefully, Ezra looks back to Kauri who squeals in excitement at him.

<"Oh this looks like fun!"> Unable to understand the little otter, Ezra smiles to him, getting the gist of the excitement. Taking a moment to look around the room, Ezra starts to prep the area. A few rings to go through, weave through a handful of poles, and finally do the swimming course. There'd be enough time for Kauri to get the hang of it and speed up a little more. For a second, he worries it'll be too much. His voice comes out carefully, "I know you're excited, but don't overdo it." Kauri just looks up at him quizzically.

<"I'll be fine. Let's get started!">

Kauri starts rushing through the course without much warning other than the squeak Ezra heard. Scrambling to follow along, Ezra feels as if this training was more for him than Kauri, either way, he'd keep up. After an hour or so of running drills and exhausting himself, Ezra feels his chest hurting and his breath getting heavy as he pants slightly. Kauri seems just as tired, but overall, they'd trained. Hopefully the results would make the trip worth it. The sea sickness was going to be hard to get used to if they were going to do this every week, but Ezra had wanted to be a trainer. This would work out and he'd become the best trainer Shula has ever seen.

Name - Kauri
Level - 10 - as of 7/31/2022
EXP - 0/100

[Primarina]

[dojo] lzAX6iRi

[Ezra D'Lange]

As soon as they had gone into the dojo this time, Ezra knew exactly what he wanted to do for training this time. A smile on his lips as he goes to the front desk requesting a room with some substitute dummies to beat up on. After learning a new movie, Ezra wanted to see how much Kauri could use it for combat. As soon as the room was put in, he went inside there with Kauri in his arms. After Kauri looked around for a second or two, nodding in approval, Ezra started to speak up confidently. "Alright, I think today, we're gonna test out that new move you got with a move your already know." Kauri looks up at him with bright eyes and a certain salute that seems more like a joke than serious.

A laugh leaves his throat as he continues. "Alright, so you're going to use Sword's Dance and then Tackle. The idea is the dance itself is going to strengthen that tackle just a little bit! Let's try it out!" Kauri gets confident as the little hero the otter was. Ezra watches as the oshawott moves around quickly, strengthening it's body as it moves to the substitute dummy and slams it hard. A loud cheer falls from his throat. After a good hour or so, the moves seem to get faster and faster. Ezra is excitedly sweating as he's been cheering on little Kauri the entire time. For a training session, he hoped Kauri would grow just a bit more from their hard work. Either way, he was proud of the little guy.

Name - Kauri
Level - 11 - as of 8/1/2022
EXP - 0/121

[Primarina]

[dojo] ZC4_KtIy

[Ezra D'Lange]

The dojo was a good place for strengthening their bond. Ezra's been learning more and more about Kauri's personality over time. The little otter was the curious kind who seemed to have a need to help those around them. A sense of justice that must've been built upon the little guy's time in the lab. Helpful, but older than most of the others. Ezra had figured out a lot more in the couple of weeks he's had Kauri. So, when he'd gotten to the dojo, he requested for another room filled with substitute dolls. They'd been practicing their battling capabilities for a bit. He didn't want to fall behind. There were gyms to be faced in Shula. The gnawing feeling in the back of his head keeps telling him to practice. Fought for so many years to become a trainer, only to find himself here knowing he needs to have Kauri grow with him.

"Alright, Kauri! Let's try some moves out." Looking over to the dojo owner, he asks if there's a way to copy moves seen. The screen in their room was what he was guided to. Kauri's eyes wandering to the screen as Ezra lights it up with the power button, scrambling to see what moves were there. Finally choosing something simple, he looks to Kauri and starts to speak. "Let's try to use copycat on these dummies, watch the other pokemon carefully and try to copy what they do." Kauri moves quickly, from the screen to the dummies, attempting to do what's on the screen. After a few moments, Ezra is providing insightful ideas from the sidelines. His eyes shining with excitement as the little otter starts to move around the room faster. There's a certain pride is seeing how they work together. Together, they could push through and get stronger. Ezra had to just keep up what he had seen his father done with Pelipper. Over the course of an hour, Ezra could see Kauri moving faster, thoughts getting faster, which in turn made the move easier to use. A cheer echoes from his chest as he gets excited about the way Kauri moves. Either way, only time would tell whether this training had stuck with Kauri or not.

Name - Kauri
Level - 11 - as of 8/5/2022
EXP - 50/121

[Primarina]

[dojo] 6Wzhsj97

[Ezra D'Lange]

Ezra's certain about the time. Cosmos was ready to start training, even if the little pokemon still was keen on throwing tantrums every so often when the little guy was frustrated. Either way, it was apart of training pokemon. Ezra would have to learn how to handle pokemon that were unruly in many ways. His father used to tell him that pokemon who were the toughest would give the hardest time. Pelipper had been hard enough for him, but he'd seen the bond his father had with his pelipper and Ezra was determined to share the same bonds with his pokemon. As he enters the dojo, he requests some substitute dolls for Cosmos. Starting small with practicing moves and battle maneuvers would be the best direction to go. Get the muscle memory going for them.

As soon as Ezra enters the room, he calls out Cosmos. The little mantis stares up at him curiously looking around the room. A silence fills him as he takes a deep breath before speaking to the little pokemon. "So, I think it's time we start training." Cosmos looks at him with squinted eyes that he's learned was an intrigued, but guarded look. A small laugh wants to escape from his chest, but he holds it back as the little mantis starts to make a noise at him. <"Where's Kauri? Can he play with us too?"> Understanding the just of it, Ezra grimaces slightly. His voice coming out carefully as he rubs the back of his neck.

"I was hoping for just the two of us to work together? We're just gonna do some moves and battling against those dummies." The little mantis starts to sniffle in what must be an oncoming wail. Ezra's heart hurts for a moment before he continues. "It could be a good surprise! Showing Kauri how strong you are. Wouldn't that be fun?" Cosmos' sniffles, but nods in agreement now. A sigh of relief echoes from his chest as he starts running the drills. His voice comes out confident now.

"Alright, let's start with leafage from a distance and then fury cutter when you're up close!"

"Ezra" <"Cosmos">

Name - Cosmos
Level - 5 - as of 9/5/2022
EXP - 0/50

[Primarina]

[dojo] 8l2sgGJF - Previous Week

[Ezra D'Lange]

Iris was a brand new addition to the team. Despite Ezra being from a place of mostly water, he seemed to be starting to become someone who has more grass types. It's not how he expected his journey to go, but he wasn't complaining. Iris was by far a pokemon that was certainly going to be both easy to train and difficult to train. The chikorita had already been much more excited that Cosmos and much more demanding than Kauri when they'd gotten to the dojo. Having moved towards the older gentleman who ran the place and pushing her leaf towards what she wanted. The substitutes were already ready for them. As soon as the both of them made it into the room, Ezra could see Iris already using vine whip without a command on the substitutes. A sigh from his chest as he speaks to her carefully. "I haven't even said anything yet. We need to work as a team here." The chikorita smiled before continuing to strike the nearest one.

As Ezra moves over to the side, he starts to let himself calm down. His mother would say to start small and then work towards the bigger goal. Ezra's voice comes out stronger. "Okay, so you want to vine whip these. How about you do that one over there?" Iris' interest is picked up just slightly before the little plant strikes the one Ezra had pointed to. Better than nothing. So over the period of an hour, Ezra points to each dummy and Iris hits that specific one. If they were going to be a team, he'd have to accept breakthroughs where he could. Iris was much more confident in her own capabilities, which led to a much more independent acting pokemon. Ezra could handle that. <"Hmmm... Better than I thought.">

"Ezra" <"Iris">

Name - Iris
Level - 5 - as of 11/1/2022
EXP - 0/25

[Gardeon]

[dojo]rFHP_NzM

[Ezra D'Lange]

Iris had made great progress the week before. Watching Iris vine whip the balloon course was perfection, but he had to help her grow even stronger. It was one of her desires. He could feel the way she grew more intense whenever there was a battle. Iris was a battler at heart, but his method and her mindset seemed to clash. Ezra knew that there'd be different meshes of pokemon, but Iris was not a pokemon he expected to mesh with very well. An understanding has been reached, but he needed to practice their teamwork. For this week, he decided to test their teamwork in a course the older gentlemen liked to call "The Trust Couse." Ezra wasn't exactly ready for it, but he hoped the two of them could learn from one another.

Entering the space, Ezra made sure to hook up Iris and himself to the rope there. Both of them were lifted up high and once above the normal surface, he realized it was a rope course. They were tied together and would have to work together to make it through. Iris glared, but he sighed as he crouched down and looked to her. "Alright, so we're going to practice working together. That's the whole plan for this. You and I are going to completely this probably dangerous rope course tied together and if we make it to the end, we'll succeed. I want us to get along and this'll be a good test for the both of us as a team." The Chikorita just looked away from him, but Ezra sighed and then began moving, letting Iris have some of the slack, hoping to get them both on the move. Over time, he realized Iris needed a bit more coaxing, but eventually the two of them were moving together. It was going to be a long hour before everything was complete.

"Ezra" <"Iris">

Name - Iris
Level - 7 - as of 11/17/2022
EXP - 14/49

[Primarina]

[dojo]Io4vNhno

[Ezra D'Lange]

Ezra D'Lange was highly impressed with Iris' training. She'd been perfect in the rope course of trust. A few times they'd slipped, but overall the course was a great way for the both of them to grow closer. On this week, Ezra's focused to helping Iris grow even more. The dojo itself was a place he was growing fond of. Memories forged in practice and control, but also enjoyment, excitement, and hopefully friendship. Iris stays by his side, always much more serious than the rest of his team.<"What's the plan for today?"> Iris' own fluttering of words comes through. Ezra can get the gist of the information, but it's still hard to learn how each different pokemon communicates. Ezra's own voice comes in carefully as he nods to the owner of the dojo.

"We're gonna practice some accuracy with your poison powder. It'll be good to poison a pokemon when we're in a pinch." Iris nods her head to acknowledge Ezra. Once Ezra notices the words fall away, he steps towards the room they've got. A large red line separates the room in half. Moving pokemon dolls are behind the red line, hidden behind barrels and crates to make pokemon think a bit more about where they aim. Ezra starts to speak once more. "So here's what's going on. Iris, you're gonna use poison powder on each of these dolls, the goal is to hit all of them before the time is up. You'll have three different rounds to try as that's all we have for time. You got this. Make sure to aim a little higher than normal as you can't go past the line." Iris looks at Ezra and just smiles. Prepares her stance as she starts launching powder towards the dolls. Ezra just laughs and nods as he starts guiding her. They spend about an hour doing this over and over. By the end, Ezra and Iris are worn out.

"Ezra" <"Iris">

Name - Iris
Level - 9 - as of 11/26/2022
EXP - 1/81

[Gardeon]

[dojo]e|7xEyuK

[Ezra D'Lange]

Ezra, for all it's worth, had done everything he can to please Seafoam. Despite all of his efforts, nothing had really come of it. Seafoam had turned out to be not a regular Horsea as he'd expected her to be, but instead was a Shulian Horsea which was really cool. Ezra had loved that he got such a rare pokemon and was excited to see her in front of him, until she had sprayed him with smokescreen and covered him in black ink completely. Turning up her nose at him as if he's beneath her. That's when he knew she would be a handful of a pokemon. After consulting his mother, she'd told him to be ready for a challenge. Raising a pokemon that's vain isn't easy, but she believed in him and that was truly enough. The trip to the dojo was very chaotic. Seafoam's cry echoing in his ears as they approach. <"Gosh, you took me here? to this bland place. How miserable."> Ezra just shakes his head as Seafoam turns her head away from him.

Entering the dojo, he asked for a pool room for her. Seafoam stares at him as she continues. <"Trainer! You're just gonna put me in whatever murky sham of a place that this old weirdo will get you? I demand a pristine pool, cleaned from top to bottom. Are you even listening to me?!?!?"> Ezra tunes Seafoam out as he sighs. The older gentleman just smiles with a knowing look, handing him a key. Ezra immediately looks to Seafoam, a frown on his face. "Alright. Enough of the whining, I get that you're a really pretty pokemon, but you've gotta work with me. A pool isn't going to kill you for an hour, is it?" Without hesitation, he doesn't understand the words, but he can tell just by the look on her face. <"Yes. Yes it will.">

Groaning, he enters the room, moves to the pool and gently sets her in the water. Without missing a beat, he steps away swiftly. His voice coming out ignoring the whine in her voice that he just talks over. "Alright, today, we're gonna have you swim as fast as possible. We'll test how fast you go by using bubble at the bottom of the pool and racing it before it reaches the top." Seafoam rolls her eyes as Ezra just crosses his arms. <"Fineeeeeeee. As long as you buy that soft pillow I want."> Ezra has no idea what she's saying, but he shrugs his shoulders and they both set to work. Over an hour or so, he's pleased with the progress, even if Seafoam has whined the last two laps. It's better than nothing.

<"Can we go now? I've got better things to do.">

"Ezra" <"Seafoam">

Name - Seafoam
Level - 5 - as of 12/3/2022
EXP - 0/25