Working (Out) From Home (EXP Thread)

[Niko Vesper]

Suffice to say, Niko's new home was a nice upgrade compared to his place in Mossrock. Sure, that place was fine, but it wasn't the most accommodating for Niko's full roster of Pokemon, and it wasn't the most private abode, either. This new place just had more going for it, and besides the qualities mentioned above, the indoor gym was perhaps the most exciting draw of the whole thing. No longer were they restricted to the Dojo when it came to reliable and substantial training!

With this being as great as it was, they'd be stupid not to capitalize on the new opportunity for training. Amrock was quite excited about the new place himself, so he was up for a new opportunity to stretch his legs. Appropriately, this meant he'd be doing a lot of kicking, the new punching bag being a suitable target for his self-styled mode of combat. He was throwing out new sorts of kicks left and right, not wanting to waste the opportunity to try new things. He could kick straight ahead, to the side, roundhouse kick, or even just jumping in the air to get a little more momentum...though after some trial and error, he figured the latter was something best saved for later on.

[Arcanine]

[dojo]xeOQ79uf

[Niko Vesper]

The new Vesper household being larger than their last place was a real blessing for more reasons than one. Cavendish hadn't exactly been the most comfortable then, him being particularly tall and the largest member of Niko's team. Now, though, he was alright, even if things were a bit iffy for him at times. At the very least, he was able to get where he needed to go, no matter where that was. That included the gym, fortunately enough, but whether it'd be big enough for him to actually train in or not was hard to say on the outset.

Starting out, it seemed okay. He couldn't really stir up the wind too much in the room, for obvious reasons, but for more basic stuff, he was just fine. He could step up to a prone target, get up on his hind legs for just a moment and then bam! A fierce stomp, right onto the dummy's chest.

"Nice one, Cavendish," Niko said happily. "That's a good start right there. Maybe just don't be too forceful. I'm still not sure how much this place can take."

That might've been a superfluous restriction, but better safe than sorry. Plus, at the very least, Cavendish still had plenty of opportunities to train!

[Gardeon]

[dojo]wkwfPcQg

[Niko Vesper]

Though he was at that point the smallest of Niko's team, Xiphos greatly appreciated the extra space in their new place. Not only was it full of cool stuff that suited him perfectly, but it also gave him plenty of room to scuttle around and try new things!

A bit of a shame, then, that that week's training was on the more simplistic side. With no pool in the gym, Xiphos didn't have too much to do, but at least they had a treadmill to work with. It wasn't much, and Xiphos was more than familiar with treadmills at that point, but it was something.

"Alrighty then," Xiphos sighed. "Guess we're sticking with ol' reliable today, huh? Could be worse."

Niko gingerly picked the Kabuto up and placed him onto the inactive treadmill. "Don't be too disappointed," he said. "This is just while you're all getting accustomed to the new place."

That excuse aside, Niko turned on the treadmill and set it to a moderate speed. Wasting no time, Xiphos began scuttling quickly, just as he had in the past. It wasn't too hard for him at that point, and he'd honestly been hoping for more, but he figured that the best was yet to come. With enough time, he'd get to experience REAL speed.

[Gardeon]

[dojo]EKqteg9x

[Niko Vesper]

Last training session at home was nothing too crazy, really. Not that it needed to be, obviously, but Xiphos was apparently not too impressed with the training Niko had set him to last time, as it wasn't exactly much of a challenge. Clearly, Niko would have to provide a more substantial challenge if he were to maintain his interest in training. Fortunately, Niko had just the thing in mind, even if it didn't seem like it at first.

"This is it?" Xiphos asked, not too impressed by what lay before him. It was just a regular punching bag, nothing more. He'd seen people train with them plenty of times, and it seemed pretty easy. Not much more of a challenge than the treadmill. Still, this was what Niko wanted, so he decided to humor him by spinning into the thing.

However, soon enough, Xiphos found out something surprising: The punching bag was suspended in the air, so to hit it, he'd need to jump, then strike. Problem was, spinning on the ground or in the water was simple and straightforward. Spinning in the air, though? That was a tall order. Perhaps more than he could handle?

After a bit of thought, Xiphos had his answer to that question all figured out: Hell no.

[Gardeon]

[dojo]0GN4f|wf

[Niko Vesper]

Shard definitely enjoyed the new household for the added space, plus the amenities it offered, but she couldn't say she was as enthused about training there as some of the others. By that point, she was used to making a bit of a mess, if only as a side-effect of the training she engaged in. She would break boulders and tear sheet metal at the Dojo, but without all that at home, what was she supposed to do? She really wasn't sure at first.

Turns out, Niko had it in mind that she could just do some simple weight training. Shard supposed that was fine, even if she wasn't totally suited for it, what with her lack of actual hands. Hell, she could recall engaging in such training in the past already. Really, all she needed to do was get a hold of the weights and lift them as best she could. 

Starting with only fifty pounds of weight set a pretty low bar, in her opinion, but she could at least say she could handle it. Upping that to one hundred pounds, on the other hand, provided a decent challenge for her. Still, given her abilities, she was certain she could do better...or, at least, she should've been able to.

[Gardeon]

[dojo]1Omng8zF

[Niko Vesper]

Nightwing liked Niko's new place plenty, but she wasn't the biggest fan of his home gym. Sure, she knew it couldn't be as big and expansive as the Dojo, but it was just kind of...small. And worse than that, there just wasn't a lot to do! There was no sand to splash around, no other Pokemon to play with, or anything like that. Just weird equipment that she didn't recognize and couldn't even feasibly use. 

Still, Niko insisted that the gym would work for them that day, and she didn't have much reason to assume this claim was false. After all, it wouldn't be like Niko for him to lie to her, right? Surely, those funny-looking weights were perfect for her. She just had to pick one up and start doing "reps", as Niko called them.

After a few clumsy reps, Nightwing began to get the hang of using the dumbbells. They were pretty heavy, and it was hard to hold them in her pincers, but she was able to get used to holding them. That being said, though, they didn't stop feeling heavy. In fact, as she went, they only felt heavier in her grasp, which only served to worry her more. How long could she keep it up?

[Gardeon]

[dojo]FggRrO|F

[Niko Vesper]

Shard still wasn't totally comfortable with the idea of using the home gym to train. Fine as it was, it just didn't seem like the best place to exert herself. After all, Pokemon like her were powerful, and the last thing she wanted was to accidentally damage Niko's home, lest the ensuing repair bills cut into their food budget. In her mind, being cautious just made sense, and she was certain Niko felt the same way. However, as she would find, he wasn't going to let that stop them.

Being presented with a punching bag was hardly what Shard expected from her day. She'd worked with similar equipment before, but unlike what she used at the Dojo, this one seemed almost mundane. More like the kind of equipment that humans used to exercise than what was used to train Pokemon. Would it really be able to survive a full-on pummelling? Shard wasn't sure, but she supposed they'd have to find out.

Shard refrained from sharpening her claws, for starters. She wasn't sure how high her chances are of cutting the punching bag was, but she wasn't going to raise it. Instead, she'd just have to deliver solid blows, one after the other, and hope they weren't making a big mistake.

[Haunter]

[dojo]Bb6CtyNK

[Niko Vesper]

The new Vesper household being larger than their last place was a real blessing for more reasons than one. Cavendish hadn't exactly been the most comfortable then, him being particularly tall and the largest member of Niko's team. Now, though, he was alright, even if things were a bit iffy for him at times. At the very least, he was able to get where he needed to go, no matter where that was. That included the gym, fortunately enough, but whether it'd be big enough for him to actually train in or not was hard to say on the outset.

Starting out, it seemed okay. He couldn't really stir up the wind too much in the room, for obvious reasons, but for more basic stuff, he was just fine. He could step up to a prone target, get up on his hind legs for just a moment and then bam! A fierce stomp, right onto the dummy's chest.

"Nice one, Cavendish," Niko said happily. "That's a good start right there. Maybe just don't be too forceful. I'm still not sure how much this place can take."

That might've been a superfluous restriction, but better safe than sorry. Plus, at the very least, Cavendish still had plenty of opportunities to train!