Chapter Text
"Fighting Dojo Machoke Learns to Dance – Full story inside..."
Rick Coda closed the news article on his phone and raised his bushy eyebrows in confusion. There was always interesting news in Dewberry City and every day there was something different. The sound of the doorbell ringing interrupted his thoughts and he figured it was Mike. He had gone to try out for the first year battling team at his new trainer school and it was about time for him to return. However, when Mr. Coda opened the door, he did not see his son standing there.
"Hello...?" he asked. "May I help you?"
It appeared to be someone in a Poliwhirl costume that looked convincing enough. A familiar voice gave away the identity of the person inside the suit.
"Dad, it's me!" the Poliwhirl said as he barged in the house. Mr. Coda closed the door behind the talking Poliwhirl that claimed to be his fourteen-year old son and simply stared as the boy struggled to reach the zipper on the back of the costume.
"How did it go, son?" he asked with a puzzled expression. "Did you make the battling team?"
After a few more seconds, Mike finally managed to get the suit off. He took a deep breath and shook the sweat out of his mop of light brown hair. The costume was unbearably hot especially since it was still summer. He took off the oversized white gloves and tossed them to his father before taking off his shirt and using it to wipe the rest of the sweat off of the rest of his olive skin.
"Coach said I had potential," Mike told his father. "He said that I was even good enough to be on the first-second year team. Not as a starter, but still. Then out of nowhere, he asked me what my height was and asked if I had any experience in gymnastics. One thing led to another and now I'm the school mascot, Polly the Poliwhirl."
"That sounds like something a goofball like you would enjoy," Mr. Coda replied. "What's the big deal?"
"I wouldn't mind if it was something cool like a Salamence or a Garchomp or something that could breathe fake fire," Mike explained. "Well, I guess it could be worse. I could have ended up a Clefairy or something else that's lamer than Polly the Poliwhirl. Might as well make the best of this situation. Maybe if I show them that I can be a good mascot, they'll let me join the battling team next year."
"That's the right idea, son," Mr. Coda said. "Your mom will be back from the grocery store in a bit. I think I'll go call your sister and let her know about your new position."
He gave his son a grin before disappearing into the other room. Mike wondered what his sister would say when she found out. If he knew Julie, she would get on the Bullet Train and come all the way home from her college campus in Baneberry City just to laugh at Mike dressed as Polly the Poliwhirl.
"Might as well get to practicing..." he said to himself as he grabbed his shirt. With a defeated sigh, Mike headed towards the backyard and walked over to the large tree in the middle of the grass. There was a small tree house built at the top where Mike and his friends often hung out. Grabbing a poké ball from his belt, he tossed it in the air and stood back as the Pokémon inside materialized.
"Paw...mi!"
Pawmi gazed at his trainer in silence for a moment before bursting into laughter. He had been with Mike when he had been made mascot and was now rolling around in the grass at his trainer's expense.
"Laugh it up," Mike told him. "Everyone else already did when I told them, but listen up. If I'm going to be Polly the Poliwhirl, I'm gonna be the greatest one in the history of Dewberry Trainer School and you're going to help me."
"Mii...?"
“That’s right.” Mike grinned at the young electric Pokémon. "Marshtomp and Roselia definitely aren't going to do it and I need someone to help me. It's been a while since I’ve practiced gymnastics with Lys, so I might be a bit rusty."
He sprinted forward and did a frontward somersault. Besides a cartwheel, it was the easiest gymnastic move that he knew how to do. Pawmi clapped at his trainer's successful flip.
"Mii! Mii!" he shouted enthusiastically as he pumped his fists in the air, electric sparks radiating from them.
"I guess I better tell Mom that we should probably get that folding trampoline out of the garage," Mike stated. "Maybe she’ll buy me a new one. Let's see if I can do anything else. Pawmi, stand back."
Pawmi moved away from his trainer and watched curiously as Mike stuck his arms out in front of him. He suddenly jumped and attempted to do a back flip, only to fall flat on his face. Pawmi snickered and cartwheeled around his fallen trainer before Mike rose to his feet and dusted the grass off of his shirt and pants.
"That's enough practice for today," he said with a frown. "I’ll get the hang of it again soon. Let's go see what everyone's doing. It’ll give us a chance to test out the new bike. Should I meet up with them at Big Bidoof’s Burgers or the Rec Center?"
"Pawmi! Mii!"
"Not sure which one you said since you know, I can't speak Pokémon. Okay, how about this? Use Mach Punch on this tree. Two punches for Big Bidoof’s and three punches for the rec center. Alright, go!"
"Pawmii!"
Pawmi’s fist began to glow and he began punching in such a fast pace that Mike could not possibly count them. The only thing he knew was that it was much more than three punches. He shrugged his shoulders at the dent in the bark of the tree thanks to Pawmi's attack.
"Well," Mike started. "It was more than four, so by that logic, I guess that means that you want to go to the rec center more than you want to go to Big Bidoof’s? Rec center it is."
Mike opened his phone and went to his messages, clicking on the group chat that said W.M.P.D. He quickly began typing.
‘Hey guys meet me at the rec.’
After sending the message, Mike put Pawmi on his shoulders and he began riding his new bike through the suburban subdivision of Starview. Every house looked practically the same and Mike frequently expressed to his parents that everyone in their neighborhood needed to have some more creativity. From Pawmi’s disapproving look, Mike could tell that he thought the same.
“It’s like something out of one of those lame commercials, Pawmi,” Mike commented. “Mom said no one can make any big changes to their houses because of a group called the Home Owner’s Ass or something.”
Mike had just made it out the neighborhood when he spotted someone jogging in front of him. He chuckled as he saw the dark blonde ponytail of the jogger bouncing up and down. A mischievous grin crept across his face and he stealthily recalled Pawmi to his ball as he peddled closer, hoping to surprise the jogger.
“Don’t even think about it, Mike,” the jogger said calmly without even turning around.
“You had your earbuds in and everything, Lys!” Mike replied in disbelief.
“Because I have a Mike Coda sixth sense,” Elyse McKinley told him as she took out her earbuds. “Plus, I’m always aware of my surroundings thanks to years of my mom drilling it into our heads. My sister is the one who tends to get in more dangerous situations with her hobbies though.”
“McKinley magic, got it,” Mike said and then averted his gaze. “Congrats on making the school team. It’s not easy for a first year to be a starter, but you, Ellie, and Drake pulled it off.”
“Thanks,” Lys gave a full smile for the first time. “I...heard about your tryouts…”
“I’d rather not talk about it,” Mike said and put on a brave face. “Just know that I’m probably going to need your help with some new gymnastic routines. Anyway, are you headed to the rec too? Why are you walking?”
“Yeah, I’m going there to train,” Lys answered, her bright blue eyes brimming with purpose as always. “I’m walking to get some exercise...and I don’t really have a choice. My bike is being repaired, my parents are gone for the day, and Amelie is at a retreat. I rode with Loki to tryouts, but he got grounded after we got back to Starview.”
“Grounded for what?”
“His mom looked at his search history on his laptop.”
“Say less,” Mike stopped her before she could go into detail. “You know, I can take-”
He was interrupted by the sound of his phone’s message alerts. Mike scanned over the messages from his friends confirming that they were already at the recreational center.
“You guys named your group chat W.M.P.D.?” Lys noted curiously and then retracted her statement. “I mean, it’s none of my business…”
“We named it after our favorite breakfast foods,” Mike explained anyway. “Mine is waffles, Ellie’s is muffins, Drake’s is pancakes, and Relena’s is donuts. What’s yours?”
“I mean if we’re talking breaded breakfast foods, I guess I’d say bagels?” Lys said with a shrug. “But that doesn’t mean add me to your group chat. I get enough insane memes from you all individually.”
“Fair enough,” Mike chuckled. “If you’re about to train some more at the rec, at least take a break for a bit and get on my bike. You don’t want to be burned out before you even get there.”
Mike knew there was a chance that Lys would turn down his offer. She was always on the go, moving at full speed. He thought that if he was more like Lys, he probably would have made the battling team at their school. After a moment of thinking about Mike’s offer, Lys decided to hop on the pegs.
“Don’t make me regret this, Mike,” she told him with a sigh and a faint laugh.
“Too late!” he shouted and started peddling down the hill as fast as he could go.
Fortunately, the youth recreational center was uptown, closer to Starview. In a couple of years, they would age out and have to use the recreational center downtown that was owned by Hyperush Inc. For now though, Mike enjoyed the fact that he would not have to navigate the numerous buildings of downtown Dewberry City.
"Sorry!" Mike yelled as he whizzed past the walking civilians. "Excuse me! Coming through!"
Lys held on to Mike's shoulders as he continued making sharp turns around the street corners. When they finally arrived at the recreational center, Lys let out a sigh of relief and hopped onto the sidewalk. The two of them walked through the metallic doors and marveled at the sight. The center was a large building with two floors and various amenities on each level. Neon lights illuminated the dark walls and the carpet had a variety of different Pokémon embroidered on it. In the middle of the center was a set of spiral stairs that led to the training room on the second floor where people could battle with their Pokémon.
“Thanks for the ride, Mike,” Lys told him. “Think I’ll have my mom come pick me up once I’m finished. Much less chance of a concussion in the safety of her car. I’ll see you at school on Monday. Later.”
“Later,” Mike replied as Lys headed up the stairs. He reached for a poké ball and tossed it in the air.
"Mii! Mii!" Pawmi shouted in excitement the second he materialized. The bright lights of the recreational center was a young electric Pokémon's dream and Pawmi was no exception. He wandered off to the Pokémon section to play the games as Mike approached the counter. The tattooed man standing there looked at Mike with a hazy expression in his eyes.
"Little Mike!” the man greeted. “What can I do for you?!"
Hey, Glass,” Mike replied. “My friends Ellie, Drake and Relena came in here a little while ago. Do you know where they are?
"Video game room," Glass answered. "It looks like everyone is here. With school starting up soon, everyone's trying to spend the time they have left having fun at the rec. Soda is on the house for you kids today.”
"Awesome!” Mike replied. “Hey, can you keep an eye on Pawmi for me?"
Glass nodded and Mike made his way across the first floor, his short height making it a challenge for him to get around all of the other kids who were there. As he shuffled through the crowd, Mike accidentally bumped into someone, knocking him down
“Watch where you’re going…” a voice hissed.
Mike found himself being glared at by a boy with eyes so dark they appeared to be black. He couldn’t tell if the boy had his eyebrows professionally done because they were so thin compared to Mike’s bushy ones.
“Sorry, I-”
The boy had already walked off and Mike felt a since of familiarity with him. He recognized him from somewhere. After a moment of thinking and coming up with precisely zero answers, Mike put the boy out of his mind and continued onward. When he finally made it outside the video game room, he saw that Ellie and Drake were playing against each other on a space game while Relena watched them. From the sounds of Drake's frustrated groans, it was easy to tell that the spiky-haired girl was winning. Mike walked over to his group of friends and the moment that they saw him, all three burst into laughter.
"Look who it is," Drake started. "It's our new mascot, Mike Coda. Come on, Mike do a cheer for us."
"Looks like I should do a cheer for Ellie," Mike shot back. "Because from the looks of it, she's owning you in Poké Space Defenders."
Drake frowned at him as Ellie laughed and messed up Drake's curly brown hair. Mike took Drake's place on the video game and he and Ellie played Poké Space Defenders for a several minutes before she defeated him as well. This time Mike was the one frowning while Drake laughed at his expense.
"Looks like you didn't do much better," he remarked. "Anyway, I still don't get why Coach put you as the mascot. I mean almost anyone can make the battling team. Even if you're a terrible trainer, you'd at least be on standby."
"I'd rather be the mascot than on standby now that I’ve had some time to think it over," Mike told him clearly. "I’m surprised Loki ended up on standby with as good as he is."
"I think Coach put him there out of spite," Ellie replied. "He was clowning around throughout the "
"What about you, Lena?" Mike asked curiously.
"If you must know, Coca-Coda,” Relena ran a hand through her blond locks and flashed a coy smile at Mike. “I made the coordinating team.”
"As their flute player?" Mike teased. "Am I right, Barbie?"
Relena's blue eyes narrowed, but she took a deep breath and relaxed before she said or did anything that she would regret. She would have easily flew off the handle if the comment was made by anyone other than Mike no matter how innocuous the joke was.
"Well, Mikey boy,” Ellie said with a grin after defeating Mike for the twelfth round in a row of Poké Space Defenders. “You lost the bet. So, I’ll take those fries to go.”
"Here," Mike said as he reached in his pocket and gave her some of the spare change he had. "Are you leaving already?"
"Yeah," she told him. "It's getting late and I'm tired of spanking you boys at every single video game. It starts to get old after eight years. I need to train so I can match Drake in Pokémon battles. See you guys later."
"See ya, El!" the remaining three friends said in unison.
The spiky-haired girl disappeared down the spiral steps as the others returned to the video games. After nearly two hours of playing, the scores were about even and they had started getting bored with the games. They decided to go to the eating area of the recreation center and get a pizza. Pawmi rejoined Mike at the table and Relena and Drake had decided to let their Pokémon eat as well.
"Hey, Lena, do you think you should be feeding Togepi pizza?" Mike asked Relena.
"Yeah," Drake added as his Gible chomped down on four slices at once. "A while ago, he was still on the bottle. Don't you think-"
"Ellie said it was fine!" she interrupted. "And the last time I checked, she was smarter than both of you combined."
Mike and Drake glanced at one another and shrugged their shoulders. Relena had a nasty temper and it did not take much to set her off. However, the boys did not let it bother them and Ellie had never been afraid of Relena's tantrums.
"It's getting late..." Drake said as he hopped out of his seat. "I better get going. Mike, if anyone gives you crap about this whole mascot thing, I got your back. Gible, let's go..."
Mike and Relena had decided to play a few games of basketball after they left the recreation center. Relena didn't really care for the sport, but it was getting late and they didn't have many options available since the basketball court was closer to Starview than the recreational center. It also gave Pawmi and Togepi a chance to run around and play outside. Mike had won the last game and received a basketball to the back of his right leg when he wouldn't stop showboating.
"Ouch!" he shouted. "Way to be a sore loser."
"I'm a sore loser?" Relena questioned. "No, I don't care about that. You started doing cartwheels when you scored the last point, so I had to bring you back to Earth. Maybe you are perfect fit to be the mascot, Coco."
"Maybe," Mike replied with a shrug. "But hey, at least you guys all got what you wanted. I’m happy for you, Lena.”
“I...I…” Relena stammered as her face reddened. “Get my ball. I took it out of my brother’s room.”
“You get it,” Mike said with a grin as he pointed to the grass where the ball had rolled. “You threw it at my leg.”
“I threw it at your leg because you were showboating,” Relena replied and gave him a playful shove.
“Make me.”
She gave Mike a second shove and he accidentally grabbed her, sending them both tumbling onto the grass. Relena fell on top of Mike before straddling him and pinching his nose.
“Looks like I win,” she taunted.
“You forgot one thing,” Mike said as he swiftly rolled over and flipped them around so that he was on top of Relena. “I took gymnastics!”
They both laughed and it took a moment for Mike to realize that he had not moved off Relena and that she had not pushed him off yet. He felt his heart pounding in his chest the longer he stared into Relena’s deep blue eyes. He was brought back to reality by a bright light shining into his eyes.
“That’s enough of that!” the security guard said. “You two kids head home now.”
Now, they were both properly embarrassed. Relena was about to say something to the security guard as they got to their feet, but a quick glance from Mike convinced her not to. It would be easier to comply with the guard and avoid the risk of their parents being contacted.
“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” Mike told Relena.
Relena smiled and lightly thumped him on the head before exiting the court with Togepi and her basketball. Mike took Pawmi and decided to head to the convenience store to get some candy before they had to go home.
"Alright, Pawmi," Mike said as they turned the corner after leaving the store. "If we take this shortcut, we'll be home in no time."
"Miii!" he shouted excitedly.
They made their way down the third alley on the street. Pawmi climbed on top of Mike's head and stretched out, his yellow arms briefly obscuring Mike's vision as they hung in front of the trainer's face. Mike tried to push Pawmi's arms away, but in doing so took his hands off the handlebars of his bike. Pawmi finally got the hint and moved. Mike’s vision returned and he slammed on his breaks to avoid hitting the brown blur in front of him.
"What the heck is that?!" he gasped.
Pawmi jumped on the ground and Mike looked down to see what he had nearly hit. Hissing at him was a vicious looking Galarian Meowth standing in front of two older boys. The first one had shaggy dark hair and mischievous looking bluish-gray eyes. He had a devilish smirk on his face that seemed to cut right into Mike. The second boy was tall and wiry with dark skin, light brown eyes, and dreadlocks that nearly covered his eyes. He had a look of indifference on his face and didn't seem too concerned about the younger boy in front of him. As different as they looked, what stuck out the most was that they were both dressed in the black and green Hyperush gear.
"Hey, Johnny," the shaggy-haired boy said. "What do we have here?"
"Wait a second, Craig," the boy with the dreadlocks replied. "I've seen this kid before. No way, it’s really him. Hey, this is the kid I was telling you about today at battling team tryouts. He's the new mascot.”
Johnny let out a chuckle as Craig arched an eyebrow at Mike. The younger boy laughed nervously, hoping that if he played along, the two boys would let him go.
"It looks like Mascot Boy here has a bad sense of direction," Craig remarked. “You nearly hit my Meowth, kid.”
"Dude, I am sorry for almost bumping into your Meowth," Mike pleaded with him. "You know what, I'm going to go home right now and kick my own butt for being so stupid! Pawmi, let's go."
Mike started off, but Craig grabbed him by the back of his collar, yanked him off his bike, and pushed him against the brick wall of the nearby building.
"What should we do with him, Johnny?" Craig asked his friend.
"Eh, let the kid go," Johnny answered with a shrug.
Craig stroked his chin for a second and then took a step back. He reached for a poké ball and grinned at the younger trainer.
"Tell you what, kid," he started as he tossed the ball in the air. "I just caught a new Pokémon that I want to train. You beat me in a one-on-one battle and I'll let you go. Got it?"
Mike nodded and Pawmi took a battling stance in front of his trainer. Craig's Pokémon materialized and a vicious looking Mankey emerged. The fighting type glared at Pawmi before raising his fists.
"You can go first," Craig told him with a cutting smirk.
"No need to tell me twice!" Mike said quickly. “Spark!”
" Paaaaaawmiii !"
Pawmi surrounded himself with electricity and crashed into Mankey with enough force to send him a few feet out of the alleyway. Mike grinned and Pawmi punched his fist in the air triumphantly as the smoke cleared. However, Mankey was not thrilled and Craig seemed to be on the verge of laughing.
"Cross Chop..." he ordered.
Mankey sprinted towards Pawmi and, his arms crossing in an X and glowing white. Before he or Mike could react, Pawmi slammed into the wall of the nearby building and went tumbling to the ground. Mike looked on in shock as he lied motionless on the ground.
"Well..." Mike started as he pulled out a poké ball and quickly recalled Pawmi. "Gotta fly!"
He tried to run past the older boys, but Craig was closer to his bike and got to it before Mike could. Johnny followed as Craig walked the bike over to a nearby dumpster.
"Man, that reeks!" Johnny, said, fanning his face as Craig opened it and lifted Mike’s bike with a surprising show of strength.
"Oh, come on guys!" Mike pleaded. "This is the cheese factory's dumpster! Take my bike to Big Bidoof's Burgers and throw it in their dumpster. At least they have curly fries I can eat while I’m trying to fish my bike out.”
"I like this kid, Johnny," Craig stated. "He's funny."
"Funny enough for you not to throw my bike in the dumpster?" Mike asked nervously.
"Nah..." Craig answered as he tossed the bike in the dumpster. “Next time watch where you’re going.”
Mike instantly went to retrieve his bike, which immediately proved to be a disastrous mistake. The moment that he leaned over the edge of the dumpster, Mike felt a light shove from behind him and went tumbling into the foul-smelling dumpster.