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It was open day at the Inner Strength Dojo, meaning anyone that wanted to come and train with, or without their Pokemon, were more than welcome to. The problem was, most non-regulars didn't know how to get to the place. It was tucked up in the mountains and there wasn't a well-worn path to the place. There was a path though, and it was marked. Brutus saw it as a challenge, anyone that could make it up here was worth training. But, it did make it a little disheartening on days like today. None of the regulars seemed to be coming, most likely thinking the dojo was going to be busy.

Yotta sighed as he stood outside the dojo's main gate. It was his job to greet the trainers and Pokemon as the arrived. He thought it was going to be really exciting, but so far, since no one was here, it was very dull. He leaned against the wooden wall-fence and kicked at a rock that lay near his foot. It skitted off and into the grass a few feet away. "Geez, I wish someone'd get here, dis is boring!"

The cat-like eyes of Yotta widened at the sight of the two that were heading this way. His excitement only increased when he noticed they were changed Pokemon like himself, though one looked older and they both seemed to be a mix of 2 Pokemon. An enthusiastic wave greeted them as they neared. "Hello, and welcome to the Inner Strength Dojo!" He bowed, the common and respectful greeting in his house.

When the simian-looking girl spoke about wanting to spar, Yotta could not contain his smile as it spread from ear-to-ear. "Oh, good! Sparring's really fun! Have you ever sparred before? I spar all the time! I normally spar with my master, Brutus-Sensei! He's really nice, you'll like him!" The cat spoke quickly, obviously excited about the visitors. "You're the first people today, I think that's weird, but I'm happy you're here! Come on, let's go inside!" He motioned for the two to follow him inside as he turned and entered the open gates.

"My name is Yotta, wha's yours?" he continued the conversation as they walked. The entry way was currently being tidied by a surly-looking Blaziken. The Fire/Fighting-Type looked up at the small group, sneered, and then went back about her business. When they were out of earshot, Yotta whispered to the two, "That's Nix, she's mean, it's nothing you did though." Despite his comment, he tone was still rather chipper. "Master Brutus should be in the main hall right now..." he stated, as they continued past several rooms, some open showing various training equipment.

Yotta gave a full-bellied laugh when Sasha asked if Brutus was a changed Pokemon. He wasn't trying to be mean by any means, but the thought of his master looking like a human humored him. "No, no, no, Brutus-Sensei is a human." he replied after giggling to himself some more. "He's a Fighting-type trainer. He trained my momma and the rest of the team here and a lotta more Pokemon from other trainers. He's also a really great martial artist! He trains everyone, Pokemon or human with the same respect. He's really great!" Yotta was singing the praises of Brutus all the way to the main hall, where the burly man sat, lotus style in the middle of the floor. The man's eyes were closed as they entered the room.

"Yotta, you give me far too much praise," the man spoke, in a deep, commanding yet calm tone. "I hear we have some guests, glad to hear it." He opened his eyes and despite his surprise at seeing the two girls, he kept a fairly stony expression. "Good afternoon, ladies. If I heard correctly, your names are Sasha and Alexis? My name is Brutus Maximilian Claudius, master of the Inner Strength Dojo. Welcome." The man stood, his size imposing to lesser beings, but there was an air of acceptance about him. "So, have you both come to train? Judging by the looks of you, I'd say you are similar to Yotta; you were once normal Pokemon. Would that be an accurate assumption?" He placed his arms behind his back as he stood, unwavering.

The Meowth's excitement was betrayed by his tail, he wanted to get to sparring, surely his master wouldn't spar with a girl who looked his age. It'd be perfect for the two of them to spar, however! Regardless of how excited he was, he didn't move (other than his tail) or speak out of respect for his master.

Brutus' eyebrow popped up at the mention that Sasha didn't know what type she was. "I am sorry to hear you suffered some ill effects from the change. As far as I can tell, Yotta has not had any. I do hope your memory returns to you. I can tell you now, that you are not any bit Fighting-type, but that's as far as my expertise goes, I'm afraid." If you listened, you could hear the concern in his voice. "Are you sure you are well enough to train? If you've had a concussion recently, I'm afraid I cannot allow you to spar, for your own safety."

Yotta's tail stopped wagging and hung limply. No sparring? "Aw, man!" he thought to himself. He understood WHY they wouldn't be able to spar, but it still crumbled his cookie of a day.

"You can, however, if you feel up to it, practice on our equipment." Brutus continued. "As for you, Miss Alexis, you are welcome to have a look about the grounds, or watch Miss Sasha train."

"Master!" Yotta chimed in, half stamping his foot. "They said she hasn't had a concussion recently if she even had one!" There was a an edge of whining in his voice.

Brutus sighed, getting bombarded with protests from the three young Pokehumans. His massive arms relaxed only to have him bring them forward and cross them over his chest. His tone was calm, still, "I was merely stating that if you'd had one recently, it is not wise to practice any physical combat." He breathed in deeply, letting it out in another sigh and dropping his arms to his side. "However, since you and your friend are set on telling me that you have not had one, you can spar."

Yotta jumped up in the air, "Woo-hoo!"

"But," Brutus cleared his throat, causing Yotta to silence, "You will need to put on some protective gear. Yotta can show you where it is and help you find the right size."

Yotta bowed and turned to Sasha with a huge grin on his face. "It's right over here!" Yotta nearly ran over to the far side of the room as Brutus took a seat on some pre-placed floor cushions in what could be deemed a spectator's area. The Meowth boy opened a massive cabinet, revealing various helmets and padding. He picked up a helmet, luckily it guarded the temples and the sides of the jaw, having a hole up top. "Dis should work. Here, try it on." He eagerly handed the helmet to Sasha and waited to see if fit. "You might want to get some gloves an' foot guards too." He motioned to the other gear.

"Well, um.." Yotta faltered, his face scrunching up into a, awkward smile, "Do you know how to spar and stuff at all? Ummmm... do you know how ta fight... wiff out usin' Pokemon powers an' stuff?" He hoped he was being clear enough and he really wasn't trying to be condescending in any way. He'd run into a lot of Fighting-types that would use Pokemon moves like Mach Punch and Hi Jump Kick while sparring. Sparring was not meant to work on those types of things, it was meant to work more on a person or Pokemon's control over their own body, learn how to properly punch, kick, block, etc. while in a fighting-like situation. Pokemon battles, in Brutus' mind (and thus Yotta's) were meant to hone the moves a Pokemon learned. Sparring helped teach analyzing one's opponent and keeping one's cool in a fight. "If ya don't, um, it's, uh, actually pretty easy. Ya jus' gotta remember not ta use any, um... element-type moves." Yotta tried to explain, "Like, if you're a Water-type, no Water moves." He merely used water as an example. He had no clue what type, or types, Sasha was, but water seemed like a good guess. She was blue, like water.

"Yotta's the first non-Fighting-type I've ever trained," Brutus replied, not much emotion to his voice. He wasn't being short, he just wasn't a man that normally showed any strong emotions one way or the other, unless need be. "I mainly train humans and their Fight-types, teach them how to be a better team. I do train solitary humans or Pokemon, however. It all depends on what each one is looking for." Brutus watched Yotta and Sasha conversing at the side of the room. "Alright over there?" he spoke loudly, getting the two's attention.

"Yessir! Just trying to explain sparring, dat's all!" Yotta beamed and laughed as his own uneasiness. If he messed this up, he probably wouldn't get to spar anyone new in a while.

"Alright. Let me if you need any help, Yotta. Remember, don't try to shoulder everything yourself." The man always had a lesson for the little Meowth boy, and Yotta was grateful for it. He bet that no one else learned this much!

His cat eyes blinked at the question that Sasha had just asked. "Lick? Like really licking someone?" Yotta couldn't comprehend why you'd even want to lick someone... unless you giving them a bath. He remembered when he was newly hatched, his mother, Ayane, would often clean him by licking his fur. But as far as he could figure, there was no other reason to lick another being. "Ummm..." he stared, at a loss. "I.... don't.... know?" He sounded very unsure. "Lemme ask."

Turning to Brutus and Alexis, Yotta called out, "Master, is licking against the rules in sparring?"

Brutus coughed, surprised by the unusual question. "Excuse me?"

"Um, yeah, Sasha wants to know if she can lick a person when you spar." He shrugged, still not understanding it himself.

The big man was silent for a good long moment due to the odd request. "Well, it's very..." he searched for the right word "...unorthodox, but I suppose it's not necessarily against the rules." In a hushed tone, Brutus leaned over to Lexi, "Is she serious?"

Brutus shook his head without saying anything else and leaned back to his original position, continuing to watch the spectacle. This was definitely going to be an interesting session.

"Um, okay, where to start first?" Yotta thought to himself once the question about licking was out of the way. "Uh..." he started, "Ya know how ta punch an' kick right? Um... like the right way?" He paused, looking around for a moment. "Hang on!" Flinging open one of the cabinets nearby he pulled out a couple of hand mitts that looked utterly worthless for sparring. It looked like a big piece of fabric-covered foam was glued to some gloves. "These're focus targets, we use 'em to help out with punching an' kicking training." He slipped the mitts on his hands and held them out so the padded palms were facing out, towards Sasha. Using one to point to a dot in the center of the other, he continued, "You try ta hit here every time you throw a punch or kick. Here, try!" He got into a stable stance, not sure how strong the girl was. He was ready though, only the stronger Pokemon and Brutus could knock him back.