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He chuckled. That statement had certainly sounded corny enough to come from a fortune cookie, but, he appreciated the sentiment behind it all the same. All in all, it seemed like they’d managed to salvage this interaction, it had been rough, and the Oshawott still felt like he could’ve done more, but maybe he’d managed to get Koa to trust him a little more. If the Electrike was more willing to be open with him in the future, then it would’ve all been worth it.

“I’m glad I’m here, too,” Archie replied, earnestly. Here, with all of his friends. Together, it felt like there was nothing they couldn’t accomplish. It would start with conquering this Dungeon, dealing with Alex’s corruption, and then they’d take the fight to Cipher, and anyone else who made it their goal to hurt people. Because that’s what heroes were for, wasn’t it?

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Ch07: How to Train Your Drapion 2 [Koa & Drapion] New
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    • The weight of the pokeball zipped safely inside Koa's jacket pocket felt so familiar. Nostalgic. Traveling here, he felt like a trainer again. Going on an adventure, a pokemon by his side... except in this case it wasn't a friendly purple bat, it was a terrifying purple scorpion. Who'd tried to kill them a few months ago. Close enough.

    Drapion had come so far. Koa had made time between everything else going on to keep up with visits to Drapion, talking to him, bringing food and spening time with him. He liked to think by now Drapion at least respected him. Or maybe liked him. Tucked into his jacket was the shed claw from the battle with Drapion when he'd been shadowed. And now, finally, after all these weeks he thought Drapion might be ready.

    Sybil had agreed to meet him near the Ranger HQ with the Relic Stone. Koa found a spot close enough to be safe but far enough for Drapion to have plenty of space, and informed Sinopa that he was ready for Sybil. His heart raced with excitement and anticipation of being able to help the Drapion. This would work... he had to believe it.
     
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    • Koa didn't have to wait long for the wyrdeer as she approached into view. It had been a while since any of the Wayfarers had seen Sybil as despite her current studies on the Relic Stone, she was still actively researching dungeons and had gone west to observe some of the local activity. And during this time, it was apparent to Koa that she had changed a fair bit: her eyes had become a striking blue, accentuated by black markings that circled them, and the tips of her fur had taken on a verdant colour. A small pouch containing the Relic Stone was strung around her neck.

    "My, Koa! It's been a while!" she greeted, "but here it is, as promised!" She looked around to ensure that nobody else was around and when she was satisfied, the orbs in her antlers flashed and the stone was pulled out of the pouch with her psychic powers. She held it out before Koa and then to ensure that Drapion had enough space to emerge from its ball, Sybil took a few steps back and laid down. She was watching Koa expectantly, waiting for him to summon Drapion.
     
    "Sybil..." He stared at her for a second, eyes wide. A shiver ran down his spine. Between her eyes and markings she looked almost like... Celebi? Not in form but those eyes he remembered from countless books and artistic depictions. Clearly it'd been too long since he'd seen her. Was the Relic Stone's power rubbing off on her?

    Blinking, he shook himself from his train of thought. "It's good to see you! Thanks for helping." As much as he itched to pepper her with questions about her research, he also had a mission here first, someone who needed help.

    Reaching into his pocket he withdrew the pokeball, relishing the familiar sensation for a moment and quelling the instinct to dramatically shout 'Go Drapion!'.

    Instead he moved back a pace and activated the release mechanism. As Drapion emerged, Koa mentally steadied himself in case Drapion reacted to being in the new enviroment or near the stone.
     
    "Oh, it's nothing!" Sybil said with a warm smile.

    Drapion emerged from its ball, acknowledging Koa with a chitter before it quickly took a defensive stance upon noticing its new surroundings and the odd wyrdeer that sat before it. It looked the odd stone with curiosity then back at Koa, uncertain. It didn't approach the stone nor did it retreat from it.

    What would Koa do?
     
    "Relax, Drapion," he said confidently. "Thats Sybil. She's a friend and ally of mine. I think she can help you." By now, talking to Drapion had become normal to him. He'd done it back homewith his team all the time, and even if Drapion here couldn't understand every word, it felt... right.

    With deliberate movements, he crossed over to the Relic Stone and picked it up. This could prove trickier than cleasing him or Archie... Drapion was a wild pokemon at heart. Still, it had to be his choice. He took a few steps toward Drapion and set the stone between them, resting a paw on it.

    He looked up, meeting the Drapion's eyes. "This stone can help heal you. Take away the sickness inside you. Make you strong." He hoped some of his words got through enough. He placed his other paw to his chest. "I used it before, and I think you can too. No one will be able to control you again."
     
    Drapion let out a low growl but seemed to calm at Koa's words. Then, it cautiously approached the stone, smelling it, then trying to feel it with its mandibles. It then jolted suddenly and lurched back, like the stone had given it an electric shock.

    Sybil, watching this, nodded sagely. "I think this means that its ready," she said, "but I don't think it'll keep contact with the Relic for long itself, so you may need to hold it for Drapion. Place it on its forehead or something. I would do it myself but I believe this process will be more effective if it is someone who it trusts is the one to guide it through this process."
     
    Koa nodded to Sybil in understanding, his heart racing in anticipation. Finally. Tempering himself from rushing haphahazardly, he picked up the Relic Stone again.

    "It's okay," he said as he approached Drapion. "This might hurt or feel weird, but trust me. You're strong enough to do it." He stepped up to Drapion, then steeled himself and pressed the stone against Drapion's chest.
     
    Drapion responded with a confused chitter but once the Relic Stone was pressed into the wild pokémon's chest it let out a loud bellow, looking ready to strike at Koa but before it was even able to lift up one of its arms...

    It immediately calmed.

    The stone glowed green, filling with a purple miasma that evaporated in the Relic's luminous sparks of power. Though it didn't look entirely painless and it seemed to sap at its energy quickly but Koa would realise that sensation it was feeling must have been akin to pulling out a deeply embedded splinter. The more it progressed, the less Drapion seemed to mind.

    When the stone's power faded, Drapion slumped down and for the very first time, it looked relieved.

    Drapion opened the door to its heart!
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    Koa reflexively braced in case Drapion attacked, but it never came. One moment he looked angered, the next he was calm. Relief, then elation rushed through Koa as he watched the shadows be drawn out of Drapion. A lump of pure emotion caught in his throat at the sight of Drapion healed.

    It worked. Setting down the stone, he reached out and placed a paw on Drapion's forelimb and gazed up at him. "Hey Drapion. How are you feeling?"
     
    Drapion let out a low rumble before chittering. Immediately, Koa would be able to tell the difference; its movements were no longer jerky and unpredictable, instead it moved far slower, far more methodically, as if those movements were no longer causing it pain. Suffice to say, Drapion was probably feeling incredible right now.

    Sybil let out an approving hum and approached the two. "I guess this is the extent of what you needed me for?" she asked, looking between Koa and Drapion. "What are you planning to do with it –" her ears flicked in the direction of the stone, hearing something that nobody else could hear "– sorry, her now?"
     
    "Yeah I think so- Wait her?" He looked between Sybil, then Drapion. Huh. Maybe he'd been subconsciously been comparing Drapion to his starter.

    Supressing a laugh, he turned to gaze at her thoughtfully. Seeing her as a nomal Drapion, no longer enranged or constantly in pain, was both weird and good. He reached into his pocket, taking out her pokeball. "I... I don't know." Drapion wasn't really his pokemon. And the battles they were getting into now were dangerous. Not to mention he was just a traveler here. Not a trainer. Not Drapion's trainer. It wouldn't really be right to keep her around... "Whatever she wants I guess," he mumbled, his voice wavering.

    "Well Drapion? You're healed now." He set her pokeball down, looking up into her eyes, trying to get a feel for what she was thinking. Too bad Red wasn't here to try and translate or something. "Where do you want to go?" He swallowed.
     
    Sybil nodded and grabbed the Relic Stone with her telekinesis, sliding it back into its pouch. She let out a quick laugh at Koa's surprise but then said, looking between Koa and Drapion, "I'd best be going then, wild pokémon can be fickle and I wouldn't want to accidently spook her."

    As the wyrdeer turned to leave, Koa would get the impression that Drapion was as grateful as a wild pokémon could be but she was ultimately... unsure of what to do next. While something pulled at her to head back into the wild, it was clear that she liked the electrike's presence and wanted to keep him around.

    Sybil, noticing this, suggested, "Maybe she can stay around Ranger HQ. There's a lot of space for her to roam freely and you visit often enough for her to get the best of both worlds. How does that sound?"
     
    A dreadful weight was beginning to settle over Koa, a knowledge that the moment he had been fearing was coming, and coming too quickly. She had a life, and she was wild, and he couldn't expect her to hang in a pokeball all the time, and he couldn't walk through town or work at the library with a wild Drapion on his heels. She deserved to have her freedom after all this.

    Inkedust said:
    "Maybe she can stay around Ranger HQ. There's a lot of space for her to roam freely and you visit often enough for her to get the best of both worlds. How does that sound?"
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    Koa's ears perked up at Sybil's suggestion and he turned eagerly to her, his tail wagging slightly. Somehow, the thought hadn't occurred to him that maybe there was a way to get both. To not have to say goodbye forever yet.

    Hope flared in him again. "That'd be sick! How about that then Drapion?" He tapped his paw on the ground, nodding to the landscape around them. "You can stay here. You'll be able to roam freely, and I'll be able to visit you anytime." He grinned up at her eagerly. With the Rangers experience handling wild pokemon, she'd be safe from causing any problems and they would be able to keep an eye on her.

    "Want to make this place your new home?"
     
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    Drapion let out a series of high-pitched chitters before she dug herself a small hole in the ground and lowered herself into it. That was probably as direct of a "yes" that Drapion could give. She settled in, basking in the warmth of the ground and dozed off.

    "Sounds like we have an agreement then!" Sybil said. "But I really must be going now." She looked around, warily. "I don't like leaving the Relic Stone exposed like this, especially after it was nearly stolen by that grovyle." Luckily there was no one else around to witness, not even the odd murkrow so both Koa and Sybil could take a brief moment of solace in knowing that this exercise compromised nothing.

    "Be seeing you!" Sybil called before she turned and left Koa to his own devices.
     
    Koa's heart soared as Drapion settled in, making herself comfortable. He gave a wave to Sybil as she left and made a mental note to try and visit her after this was all over. Whatever was going with the Relic Stone, he was incredibly curious to know more.

    Once she'd gone, Koa glanced up briefly, noting the sun's position. There was lots to do still but... he could spare a few minutes. Turning to Drapion, he trotted to her side, turning in a circle before curling up in the sand next to her. With a sigh and a yawn, he lay his head on his paws.

    Fears and worries about Alex and Cipher and everything else faded as the warmth from the sun soaked into his pelt. He closed his eyes. Just for this moment, he was happy to rest and enjoy the company of his new friend.

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