Jen jerked awake at mid-afternoon from dreams of taunting faces and sword edges. Spoink, startled by the sudden movement, also awoke; he had been bouncing lightly in his sleep, and now faltered a little, gasping.
"Sorry!" Jen whispered, remembering that Spoink's bouncing pattern affected his heart. Spoink nodded in reply and worked back to a steady pace. Jen scrambled forwards, and at the same time, her money pouch slid from her belt. The crystal fell to the floor with a clatter, making her jump. Cautiously, she reached for it, hissing at the cold, and held it between herself and her Pokémon.
"What do you think?" she asked the little pig. He considered for a second before shaking his head. Jen nodded. "I won't do it until you want me to, so you don't need to worry."
At that moment, another memory flashed into her mind; it was a memory of Edgear. She found herself suddenly consumed by the thought, as all else faded to black...
It is two years ago. Jen has just turned fifteen and has been training for a year. She is stood in the courtyard of her training academy, waiting for her tutor to arrive. She had been training herself since sunrise, but her tutor had told her that he had a new weapon for her to try today, one that would compliment her battle style, and so she was excited.
Edgear arrives shortly, two thick knives in hand.
"These are kukri, Jennifer. They're good for speedy, close combat, so we'll practice with these today," he tells her and hands her the knives. She weighs them in her hands, as she had with knives before, but Edgear just laughs. "You need to be lighter with your touch! Think like a Scyther - their blades are part of their very being, and they wield them without effort. Like them, you must fuse the kukri to your arms: make them an extension of your limbs."
Edgear's training techniques are unorthadox; he binds the handles into her fists so that she cannot unhand them, and she is forced to use them like her hands. By the end of the day, she has sliced training dummies, she has eaten dinner, she has done chores, using the blades as her hands.
The next day, Edgear turns up with the kukri again, and a Pokémon in tow - a Scyther. He shows Jen the Scyther's limbs, and binds the kukri to her arms again. She and the Scyther spar, and she learns combat techniques from the Pokémon. She asks how it is so tame, and that is when Edgear shows her the crystal. It is flushed green in colour, and with it, he says, the Scyther has become his friend and partner. She does not understand yet, but she will.
She spends the rest of the day tied to the kukri, sparring with the Pokémon until she collapses from exhaustion.
Jen laid on the floor of her chamber, breathing heavily. Her eyes were clouded over as she saw something beyond what was in front of her. She did not move. Spoink bounced over, concern in his eyes. He shook her shoulder, and tried to speak to her. The crystal had slipped from her grip and laid on the floor between them. Slowly, Spoink reached for it.
