A Viper in the Hole, Chapter 11, part 2

Over the next few days, as they continue to travel through Ilex Forest, Aria rapidly adapts to her new body, whilst Ran’s other team members work their tails off in battling and training, clearly inspired by her recent evolution. As their trainer, Ran happily encourages all of them, making sure to give Skorupi in particular plenty of battles against weaker wild pokémon and lower level trainers that are also traveling through the woods, whilst reserving the tougher fights for his more experienced pokémon. 

For Aria , he spends their second evening in Ilex Forest on a proper full physical exam, concluding that she's improved markedly in every area, compared to her time as a Spinarak, though the limited increase to her speed is a minor blemish on an otherwise sparkling record. Not that Ariados are known for their great speed in the first place, but her relatively fragile form combined with her still limited mobility do have him re-evaluate some of the moves he’d planned to have her learn. 

They also test out her known moves, as Ran dusts off a file he prepared over half a year ago for precisely this occasion. By the time they’re finished, he happily confirms that Aria's evolution has left her with the added moves Swords Dance, Focus Energy, Fell Stinger and Bug Bite. The added moves and increased power suddenly make her a highly effective close range battling pokémon, with Shadow Sneak hopefully remaining sufficient to ensure that she can close with her opponents at will.

As for what he has the others working on, that differs from team member to team member. 

Golbat finally gets to work on new moves again, as the heavy focus on his aerial speed and maneuverability starts to show diminishing returns. Bite is an obvious addition to his movepool, the only slight difficulty in actually harnessing the empowering dark-type energy rather than merely chomping down on whatever he’s attacking. Haze - the complete mishandling of which back in Falkner’s Gym he’d only realized upon further research - and Venoshock are significantly more challenging and progress on that front is far, far slower, but they’re moves that have their place in truly high-level battles, which is an empowering realization.

For Skorupi, things are more complicated, as Ran doesn’t have the information available on his species like he does on his other pokémon. Because of this, Ran forgoes having him work on any new moves for now, though the occasional interactions he catches between Skorupi and the pair of Golbat and Aria have him squinting suspiciously, and instead he focuses on his now comfortably smallest pokémon’s overall power.

It’s not particularly enjoyable or exciting training, as Skorupi’s body is forced to its limits day after day, but Aria's recent evolution has clearly convinced the Sinnoh-native pokémon of the merits of Ran’s training regimen. There’s not even the faintest sign of sulking or reluctance on Skorupi’s behalf throughout their trek through Ilex Forest, as he merely doubles down on training and giving the best of himself day after day. That this genuine effort and his apparent exhaustion every night win him the approval of the other team members and thus greatly help along his integration into their group, is a wonderful added bonus.

Finally, it’s Ekans who stands out most of all, with Ran’s starter diving into training with an unparalleled, almost fanatical intensity. He improves upon every previous record Ran’s pokégear holds for him, whether it’s on speed, bite strength, Acid range or a host of other matters. Over the course of three days, he finally fully masters the Stockpile triple-header whilst also swiftly picking up Toxic Spikes in just a few sessions with Skorupi, a feat made even more impressive by Aria's far slower progress in mastering the move.

So great is Ekans’ dedication to training over the days following Aria’s evolution, that Ran ends up worried about his starter’s mental state. Where he’d once been Ran’s undisputed ace, the two evolved pokémon in the team now both sit comfortably above him in a straight power ranking. Plus, though Ekans never seemed to mind Ran’s view on only naming his pokémon once they’d fully evolved, it’s as if every mention of Aria’s name is a tiny dagger in the Snake Pokémon’s back, his attempts to hide the flinches and hesitance her name inspires in him not successful in hiding his apparent hurt from Ran’s keen eyes.

It’s a matter that needs confronting and so, on their final night in Ilex Forest, he recalls Skorupi to his pokéball whilst Golbat and Aria relax out in the open, some distance away from Ran’s tent, leaving him the perfect opportunity to speak to Ekans privately. His starter seems to be aware that something’s up when Ran only recalls Skorupi for the night, seemingly hesitant to enter the tent and slithering around uncomfortably for a few long seconds once he’s entered in a feigned search for the most comfortable spot.

Finally, however, Ekans comes to a halt, head just so happening to be turned away from Ran’s own. He doesn’t mind however, having learned his starter’s weak spots a long time ago. When his fingernails first make contact with Ekans’ scales, there’s no real reaction, but after just a few minutes of scratching, his hand ever so slowly moving from scratching directly behind Ekans’ head to just a few inches beneath it, the poison-type starts to move. 

Ever so patiently, over the course of multiple long minutes, Ran gently manages to lure Ekans’ head into his lap, before his free hand comes up to be held just in front of Ekans’ eyes. He can tell the exact moment when Ekans breathes in and smells his trainer’s scent, as his nostrils narrow just so for a moment. 

Ekans’ eyes warily slide open, immediately locked on Ran’s own even as his pokémon doesn’t hide the defeat in his eyes. Ran merely offers a comforting smile however, knowing full well that Ekans is just as good at drawing him out of a sulk as what he just managed himself.

“So, is it a strength thing, a name thing, or both?” Ran asks gently, not beating around the bush with the one companion he’s trusted above all others for years.

Ekans’ answering hiss is low in both volume and tone, which Ran has long learned is Ekans’ form of an affirmative.

“Both?” He inquires in surprise, before clarifying once Ekans offers a single short nod, “You beat a Scyther just a few days ago, buddy. Aria and Golbat might have overtaken you for now, but the only one you should compare yourself to, is you. You’re getting stronger every day. I don’t care when you evolve. You’ll do so when you’re good and ready. There’s plenty of stuff on the pokénet that speculates about the advantages to a later evolution.”

His starter lets out another hiss in response, this one sharper in tone, as Ekans shoots him a glare, clearly irked. Ran sighs, as he realizes just what exactly is eating at the pokémon in his lap.

“Ekans, you’ve known for a long time that you wouldn’t always remain the strongest member of the team.” Ran replies gently. As he speaks, his friend visibly wilts, eyes closing in defeat and head lowering, as they finally get to the crux of the matter.

“I’ve needed you to be, in the past, and I’ll always continue to rely on you as the cornerstone of our team, but you know about some of the pokémon on my list. You never reacted like this when I mentioned adding a Venusaur or a Gengar or a Nidoking! So why is this a problem now?” He prods next, curious to discover just what’s changed in Ekans’ mindset between their planning sessions from before their journey and the present.

Ekans glares balefully at Ran. For long seconds, both trainer and pokémon remain quiet and motionless, as Ekans tries to will Ran into dropping the topic and Ran waits for his starter to crack. It’s a contest of wills he actually wins for once, as Ekans finally drops his head once more, before raising his rattler and pointing out of the tent, in the direction of the tree that was housing Aria and Golbat, when they last saw them.

It takes him a few seconds, but when he finally connects the dots, he frowns at his starter sternly, “You’re jealous because it’s them? Ekans, come on, they’re our teammates! They’re our friends!”

When he only receives a mulish head shake as a response, Ran continues to speak, tone becoming reprimanding as he does so, “You were comfortably stronger than Zubat and Spinarak and I understand that it’s unpleasant to see both of them make these huge leaps when you haven’t yet. But begrudging your friends their successes is absolutely unacceptable. It’s not the kind of reaction I’d have expected from you and it’s not a reaction I’ll accept.”

Ekans shrinks in on himself under Ran’s increasingly angry words, before flinching in surprise when Ran’s hands move to grab his head and pull him closer, their eyes mere inches from each other and staring directly into each other, as Ran’s volume lowers dramatically.

“I know that this isn’t who you are. You’re their friend. You’re my friend. You’re my starter. You will always be special to me, that’s something that will never change. I don’t care what happens, who joins or where we go. I will always rely on you. Always. Without you, none of this would’ve been possible. I wouldn’t trade you, or replace you, for anything or anyone in the world. Not even if your strength regressed all the way back to what it was when I caught you. You may not be my ‘Ace’ right now, but you will always be my starter.” He vows passionately, trying to convey both with his words and with his eyes the strength of his conviction.

The seconds of quiet that follow are unbearable to him, icy poison seeming to crawl through his veins as he waits tensely for Ekans’ reaction. His starter is hard to read in his complete lack of an initial reaction, merely continuing to stare directly at Ran even as anxiety at the idea of a negative response slowly corrodes him from the inside out. Finally, Ekans’ tongue darts out, just barely tapping against the tip of Ran’s own nose, before his starter pulls his head free and eagerly starts to curl around Ran’s upper body, crooning warmly as he does so.

Ran’s relieved sigh isn’t as deep or strong as he intends it to be, Ekans’ form accidentally winding around him a bit tighter than the poison-type likely intends. Still, his feelings are no less sincere for their somewhat muted form of expression, as he is only kept from slumping in relief by Ekans’ body. Even as he’s subjected to a hug that’s doing wonders for his posture, the poisonous doubt that was briefly eating at him drains away once more.

“Alright, glad that’s sorted,” Ran grins, left hand starting to pull at the nearest band of Ekans’ body that’s running over his torso whilst his right comes up to scratch the underside of Ekans’ head, “As for a name, if you really want one, because Aria’s got hers already, that’s alright with me. But you know how I feel about the importance of being fully-evolved, so I’d personally really prefer it if you waited. Just to make sure we don’t settle on a name that won’t fit you as an Arbok, or that won’t feel right, after your evolution.”

Ekans remains quiet for a few seconds, before nodding sedately. Clearly, Ran’s earlier speech had already done most of the heavy lifting, leaving the matter of Ran’s naming convention as little more than an afterthought that Ekans is once more happy to accept. 

The Snake Pokémon pushes his head into Ran’s neck impatiently, clearly on the hunt for more petting. Ran allows as much, though he does manage to barter for his freedom from Ekans’ overly tight hug in the process. Shortly afterwards, they’re both lying down in actual comfort, as Ran finally comes to the matter that initially convinced him that he needed to have a private word with Ekans.

Carefully, he breaks the quiet once more, “Starting tomorrow, ease up on the training just a bit, alright buddy? I trust you to know your limits and I’m super proud of how much progress you’ve been making, but I don’t want you to push past your limits out of some misguided desire to ‘catch up’ as soon as possible.” 

Ekans doesn’t reply at first, the silence stretching on for five, ten, then fifteen seconds. Finally, it’s Ran who speaks once more.

“If you overtrain, I’ll have to give you extra rest during battles…” He trails off leadingly, doing his best not to let the grin creeping up from the edges of his sound through in his voice. He’s at least moderately successful in his endeavor, as Ekans finally lets out an acknowledging hiss, no matter how begrudgingly the poison-type does so. Fortunately, any hard feelings are easily remedied by Ran’s right hand once more moving to scratch some of Ekans’ itchier spots. 

He doesn’t know how long he continues to offer Ekans scratches, though he knows that he must have trailed off at some point, as Ran wakes up the next morning with no true recollection of having drifted off to sleep. He’s annoyed for a moment when he realizes that his right hand isn’t touching Ekans any longer, having fallen by his right side at some point in the night. But any worries that there might still be some unresolved issues he failed to address the previous night are instantly dashed when he realizes just what the warm weight on his legs, responsible for bravely staving off the early morning chill, is.

Looking down his own body, Ran smiles warmly at the coiled up and sleeping form of his starter. He’ll have to keep an eye on Ekans’ mental state for a while longer, not willing to assume that a single conversation has truly fixed the underlying issues that seem to have caused Ekans’ worsened mood. But for now at least, as a warm fondness that completely obliterates the morning chill in a way that simple body heat can’t hope to match settles in his gut, he dares to hope, for a few minutes at least, that last night’s conversation might have resolved the issue completely after all.