Optimal Fighting Condition (Dojo)

[Niko Vesper]

You can bet that as soon as he was able, Niko was sure to stop by Shula's training Dojo. He'd already put a lot of thought into the matter of getting his Pokemon up to snuff, and if there was something he could do every week to supplement the training he'd get in the field, there was little doubt that he would want to pursue it. There was just the issue of having to choose. He didn't expect a particularly lengthy or complicated training session, but the fact that only one of his partner Pokemon could participate in it was an unfortunate caveat. Well, he figured, he probably couldn't go wrong with the one that seemed the most enthused about the prospect of training.

Amrock's first training session would be fairly simple. Though he had a small body with no hands, he still had a few options in terms of his moveset. In particular, he could shoot embers out of his mouth, which weren't the strongest, but were fast-moving and fairly accurate. Perhaps a bit of practice there was in order. As a warmup exercise, Amrock would use his ember on some static targets, doing his best to get some good hits in from a distance. It might not have been the most inspired choice of training, but any opportunity to improve would no doubt be helpful.

[Arcanine]

[dojo]EYBG|F7a

[Niko Vesper]

It had only been a couple days or so since Niko's trip to the Dojo. While visits to the Dojo were strictly a weekly affair, he'd last shown up near the end of the week. There wasn't a rule saying he could then show up at the start of the next week, as far as he knew.

As for who to take with him next, the decision was obvious. Regent had seemed fine with having to wait before doing any serious training, but still didn't seem like she wanted to wait forever. That, and having just trained up Amrock last time, it was only fair.

As for the choice of training, it was fairly straightforward. The number one thing that the Pawniard family were known for was the sharp blades all over their bodies. Even Regent's hands were actually small daggers, rather than actual hands. That made gripping things a challenge, but it was handy in combat. It only seemed right to work on her slashing and poking skills. And it turned out, the Dojo did indeed have access to some nice cardboard cutouts. Propping them up in one of the training rooms, Regent could practice her scratching abilities on any number of them for as long as she needed.

[Gardeon]

[dojo]F9O3HoBH

[Niko Vesper]

It only seemed fair that Niko cycle between training Amrock and training Regent for the time being. The two had both gotten a turn, and both seemed to have made progress. Thus, giving Amrock another training session just seemed like the way to go.

There was just the question of what to do. Amrock's Ember attack seemed solid, and while it might've been useful to do some vocal training with Growl, Feather Dance was just the better option 99 times out of 100. So, by process of elimination, Niko decided on having Amrock improve his scratching expertise.

As funny as that might potentially sound, Regent had done much the same last week, and it wasn't like Amrock was simply uninterested in melee combat. If anything, that was probably something to expect going forward. So, Niko opted for a training regimen not unlike last week's.

The cardboard might've been a bit thicker, but that week's selection of cardboard cutouts were overall not too much different from last week's. And hey, who knew that even in cardboard form, a mighty Ursaring could still be imposing? Amrock wasn't exactly deterred by this, of course, and, if anything, the imposing look the cutout was giving him only increased his desire to scratch the living daylights out of the thing.

[Gardeon]

[dojo]a45yxBQa

[Niko Vesper]

It was Regent's turn again. Niko remembered that the Pawniard had done quite well the last time they trained, and Niko felt like if they kept up the momentum, they could once again get in some solid training. There was just the question of what to do. Lately, a lot of the focus was on cardboard cutouts and stationary targets to aim at. Mostly offensive training, in other words. Perhaps in order to avoid stagnating, they needed to try some other form of training. 

Perhaps speed training would be a good choice. After all, real battles weren't just attacking stationary targets. Participants had to stay on the move, or else they'd be left vulnerable. That, and it was just a good way to stay in top shape. So, a training room with treadmills seemed like a good fit for that day's training. Niko was initially a bit concerned about Regent's sharp blades damaging the treadmill somehow, but on the surface, it looked like it was fine. The things must've been built to withstand a good deal of punishment. Made sense.

So, all Niko had to do was set the treadmill to a good speed and let Regent do her thing. And hey, it wasn't like he was just going to stand around himself. There were still a few treadmills in good condition in the room, after all.

[Gardeon]

[dojo]8|DfSBNJ

[Niko Vesper]

It'd been a little while since Niko had initially put off their weekly training. He'd been a bit under the weather the start of the week, and though he'd been feeling better, he was still feeling a little more lethargic than he'd like to admit. Nonetheless, he would feel terrible if his Pokemon went without training just because he wasn't in the best of shape. That, and with the lull in activity, Amrock had started acting a bit restless.

"Come on!" the Torchic had proclaimed. "I'm ready to go out and test my Ember attacks again!"

Unfortunately, Niko was still a little iffy when it came to reading his young Torchic, so he wasn't exactly leaping to help the little guy work on his fire attacks. He was, however, more than willing to take Amrock to a room in the Dojo he'd taken Regent to just the week prior.

The treadmill room was in good condition still, and it looked to accommodate Pokemon of all different sizes (though if Niko brought in something like a Steelix, he probably would be out of luck), so Amrock would be well suited to some running with its equipment. And, of course, once he evolved, he would surely be able to push his running skills even further.

[Haunter]

[dojo]Zrg3OwCc

[Niko Vesper]

Niko had been a bit busy with errands and such for most of the week, but he still wanted to make time for training at the Dojo. As he'd done before, he'd be bringing along Regent, since Amrock got his turn last time and it seemed like Regent would enjoy the opportunity to do some scratching and cutting once more. There was, however, a bit of an issue, and that was the fact that the past several weeks of activity on her part had apparently caused Regent's blades to become quite dull. They could use a good sharpening, and Niko had an inkling that the Dojo might be able to help with this. 

Turns out, he was correct. There was an entire room in the Dojo filled to the brim with high-quality whetstones, equipped enough to accommodate even a giant Haxorus. With all this made available, there was little doubt in Niko's mind that this was just what they needed. The hard diamond of the room's whetstones worked fast, to the point where Niko could practically see the difference. And they got results, too. After a little bit of sharpening, Regent went from only being able to dent cardboard to leaving deep cuts in it. Niko was pleased, to say the least, but he felt like they could do a bit more. No use letting the room's contents go to waste, after all.

[Haunter]

[dojo]TwweSLUW

[Niko Vesper]

Looking back at things, spending an entire training session on sharpening Regent's blades probably wasn't the most productive use of their time. Perhaps the room could've been a nice place to pop into before or after a session, but as an entire session? Yeah, perhaps not. Still, Niko had to admit, Regent seemed pretty happy about it, so it wasn't a total loss or anything.

Nonetheless, Niko still had to think about what to do with Amrock. The young Torchic had been fairly happy about his training thus far, but didn't want to repeat previous training sessions so quickly. Fortunately, Amrock had a good few other abilities that they hadn't done much testing with. For example, his ability to use his feathers to disorient his opponents and soften the blow of their attacks.

For the training, it was fairly simple. Niko managed to get ahold of a training dummy painted up to look like a Zigzagoon. In contrast to the cardboard cutouts they'd used before, this dummy was tough, which meant it was definitely something they could use in the future. For now, though, the objective was simple: Amrock would spin, dislodging many of his feathers which would then stick themselves onto the dummy. This was hardly something that could be considered a "Feather Dance" on its own, but on the outset, it seemed like it'd be enough.

[Haunter]

[dojo]t|dCXafT

[Niko Vesper]

If there was one thing that Niko would come to appreciate over time, it was the variety of the Dojo. He'd been going to it almost as soon as he feasibly could, and it felt like he'd only scratched the surface of what was available for training purposes. 

That being said, that also presented the issue of deciding what to do. Not all of the Dojo was useful to him for the time being, but there was still a good portion of it that was. That week, for instance, Niko wished to work on Regent's reaction time. The Pawniard had inherited a very useful ability, that being the ability to strike when her opponent was only able to wind up for an attack. Certainly a useful ability, and one that had thus far been neglected by them. Fortunately, that was something they'd be putting a rest to.

The room they were in didn't have much, but it did seem to have one device in it that was rather intriguing. It was like one of those arcade games where things popped up and you had to whack them in time. If that were to sound like an odd contraption to have for the purpose of training Pokemon...well, that was because it probably was. Still, it seemed perfectly suitable for its purpose, and there was only one way to test its effectiveness.