Chapter 57 - Feathery Showdown
After saying our goodbyes to the kecleon group and their fledgling new business me and Victini walked into the direction of the gym. Since we'd been here before I had no problem navigating Fortree City's jungle of shoots and ladders. Victini floating behind me while invisible. It was still early in the morning and a thick fog enveloped the city giving us the freedom to talk openly without much scrutiny."So... what places do you visit while not hanging out with us?""Vi Vi!" "Slateport beach is nice, the seashore house sells a pecha berry ice cream that's really yummy!"Wait, how would you know that? We've only been there once, and I don't remember ordering any pecha berry ice cream.""...!""Please don't tell me you have been raiding their freezer...""Vi!" "No! I left some money behind.""So, you were the one that has been swiping my loose change! You had me believing that one of the castle's ghosts was suffering from a bout of kleptomania.""Vi!" "Sorry!""Well at least they won't be likely to hire a private investigator to catch you in the act... but I don't like playing favourites. From now on you'll have to share with everyone else on the team the next time you go on a food excursion. Have you made any new friends while out playing?""The kecleon group asks for my expertise when new items come in stock. Sometimes I help out carrying their loot from on route 120 and back. Oh! I met a pride of Absol while out playing. They were also interested in trading away items to the store.""I spent all our time on that route looking for them and I didn't even find a single one!""Vi" "I asked them, they avoid humans when at all possible.""Ah well can't blame them for that I guess."As we got closer to the gym the paved street on the ground became more crowded and we had to put a halt to our verbal conversation to avoid being overheard. It was still early in the afternoon so the only people out and about were young hopefuls eager to visit the gym during walk in hours. Winona by all accounts was a fairly popular gym leader especially so with the local youths. There were enough kids blocking the entranceway to the gym that it would take a while before the doorman would manage to deal with them all."I have to go meet someone.""That's fine. You'll come watch my gym battle though, right?""Yup!"With that my rabbit friend disappeared off to a place unknown. By my estimation Victini went off to go catch up with Tranquill before the match. It was good that she used her powers to keep up with all of our old friends. Being the inherently social creature that she naturally is.It took a while having to stand in line but eventually the crowd of bored kids with nothing better to do thinned out and it was my turn to address the harried looking gym staff manning the reception."Check in for today's gym battles?""Yeah, Egon from Lavaridge town first slot of the day."The receptionist took the time to verify my claims but soon enough he spotted my name on the list."Yep, there you are. Now go on through, the battlefield is located on the third door to the right of this hallway."The staff member shooed me off, seemingly trusting me to get there on my own without taking into account the slim likelihood that I was a bad actor. Security for league managed facilities was taken very seriously. I wouldn't be surprised to find I was being tracked by a psychic type Pokémon right this moment. This being a flying type gym it wouldn't be difficult to convince a flock of Natu's and Xatu to act as security in exchange for a lavish lifestyle and free training.Without further ado I walked on eager to win my third Hoenn gym badge.At the battlefield* The gym battle between Winona the Fortree gym leader and the challenger Egon from Lavaridge town will now begin! Each trainer will use three Pokémon and the match will be over when all of either trainer's Pokémon are unable to battle. Only the challenger will be allowed substitutions!I was starting to get worried that Victini would miss the gym battle when suddenly I felt a familiar presence joining my mind.'Tini! Where have you been?'"Meeting up with an old friend, she and her new trainer have a big surprise for you during this battle."Once more I felt the mental presence of my psychic rabbit link up with my mind. For some reason she seemed extra excited for this battle. Undoubtedly, she was visiting Tranquill, while away, the big surprise probably being that she would be called on to participate in this gym battle. I estimated Tranquill's strength to be around third badge level when I left her here at the gym. This being a fifth level badge must have meant that Winona felt confident enough that the bird Pokémon would put up a good fight."Stop trying to see through me!"'You shouldn't have made it that obvious then.'"Come out Tranquill!""Go! Raven!"We each revealed our first Pokémon Tranquill materializing in the air above the battlefield while Raven took position on my side of the field. Tranquill had a fairly good idea what each of my team members were capable of having attended many of our training sessions. Raven being a recent addition should put her on the backfoot in this battle."This match will be a…"The referee was about to officially begin our match but before he had the chance to start I felt the need to clarify something first."Tranquill, are you eating well? The other bird Pokémon aren't bullying you right?""Quill!?""Have you made any new friends?""Tranq Quillll!""Hey! Of course she's not being bullied! All of our gym Pokémon are total sweethearts! In fact, she's close to making a special friend if you know what I mean.""No! She's too young! Who was it that tried to seduce our innocent battle loving maiden?!""Quill…"Tranquill landed on a nearby bird's pole hiding her face underneath her feathered plumage clearly embarrassed by my verbal antics."I'll have you know Swellow's been a complete gentlebird. In fact, she's the one who came onto him!""Lies!"The referee took this moment to remind the both of us that we were in the middle of an official gym battle."Ahem! If the challenger and our esteemed leader are done, could we start the battle?""Oops sorry Jared!""My apologies as well. I was just too curious on how Tranquill has been doing since we left her here.""The gym battle between the Fortree gym leader and the Challenger Egon from Lavaridge town will now begin! Each trainer will use three Pokémon the match will be over when all of either trainers' Pokémon are unable to battle. Only the challenger will be allowed substitutions. Let the battle begin!""Air Cutter!""Keep light on your feet and Snarl!"Invisible blades of wind zoned in on Raven. Instead of immediately retaliating she tried to dodge as many of them as she could. I remembered Tranquill not being as accurate with her moves having been a spectator to many of her impromptu bouts with passing wild Pokémon. Clearly, she has improved since joining up with Winona. Every other windblade managed to accurately hit Raven. My Pokémon didn't appreciate her spontaneous haircut seeing tufts of fur falling down on the ground. After the final volley of wind blades was sent out my own Pokémon retaliated with a loud screech carrying with it a dose of harmful dark type energy. Because the dark type energy was carried through sound waves Tranquill had no way of dodging the move. Sound moves generally weren't all that powerful but this one seeped through her system crippling her ability to direct typed energy outside the body.Snarl was our way of punishing flying strategies that overly relied on keeping out of the opponent's distance. Since substitution wasn't allowed during a gym battle Winona couldn't get rid of Snarl's after effect."U-turn!"'Or she can! Winona must have taught Tranquill a bunch of new tricks.'"Wait for it just like we practiced!"Raven knew what I was aiming for. We couldn't stop Tranquill from switching out and ridding herself of the aftereffects of snarl but we could punish whichever Pokémon got released as a result of the move.Tranquill snooped in glowing with a dim green light. U-turn required the user to get a blow in before allowing the Pokémon to switch out. Tranquill was the speedier Pokémon between the two so the only thing we could do was to hit Winona's switch with everything we had. Tranquill slammed against Raven in a full body blow briefly staggering my houndour before dematerializing and being sucked inside my old poke ball hanging from Winona's waist. Immediately one of the other balls hanging from that same belt opened up and in a flash of light a large Pelican like Pokémon was released in the exact same spot where Tranquill had previously dematerialized."Release Counter!""Pell?!"Enveloped in orange light Raven tackled the startled Pelliper who didn't have the time to fly away. Counter releases with twice the force the U-turn didn't manage to hurt Raven significantly since she was also part fire type, but that Counter still packed a wallop.Pelliper was blown back all the way to the edge of the battlefield before finally stabilizing midair. U-turn could startle Pokémon who weren't prepared to switch in. Seeing as this was a fifth badge level Pokémon, Winona probably hadn't trained this Pelliper's preparedness and left its training in the hands of one of her gym trainers."Sorry Pellipper!""Lipper!"'This is great! Pelliper would be a threat to my team but with it taking a full force Counter like this we might be able to take it out right away.'"Snarl!""Water Pulse!"Taking a direct water type attack like that would surely put Raven on her last legs if not knock her out directly combined with the previous hit she suffered from the talons of Tranquill. Pellipper weren't known for their speed so this time we could get in first licks during our exchange of moves. Just like before the dark type energy carried by the Raven's howl affected the pelican like Pokémon causing the Water Pulse which it was already charging up to lessen in effectiveness. Still with the battlefield constructed as it is there was no chance of my trusty pouch dodging the incoming blow. The blue ball of water impacted the battlefield producing waves of water that swept Raven in their wake. Raven emerged from the waves looking like a pitiful puppy forced to take its first bath which was probably true. Pellipper wasn't looking much better having trouble staying at an even elevation. A single weak blow would probably be enough to finish up the fight."Can you still go on?""Arf!""Fine, let's finish this! Incinerate!""Water Gun!"Raven fired off a series of fireballs in Pelliper's direction while at the same time while at the same time the water bird Pokémon produced a jetstream of cold water in her direction. I didn't need to see to know what the result of such an exchange meant."Both Pellipper and Houndour are unable to battle!"I quickly recalled Raven back to her ball. She more than exceeded my initial expectations by taking out Winona's water type paving the way for the rest of the team."Good job Raven. You can have all the extra deserts you like when we get back.""Pick me! I also want to earn those extra desserts!"'You have been working hard getting all those spars in with Phoebe's team… Let's all go get something to snack on after this. Just let me finish up this match real quick Raven wasn't the only one on the team with something to prove.'"Go Orin!""Swellow take flight!"Both our Pokémon materialized on the field much to my surprise this particular Swellow was an off colour Pokémon or "Shiny" if we'd go by terms used in my previous world. The odds of two trainers both owning and releasing off colour Pokémon against each other at the same time was a small miracle. It was then that I remembered one of the offhand comments Winona made just a few minutes prior."Was it you?!""Sweeell?""Are you the one playing with Tranquill's heart?""Looow!""Don't you take that tone with me, mister! She's too young to be shacking up with any old flirt no matter how exotic looking their plumage is."It was at this moment that the referee butted into my … speech."Ahem! Battle!"Not wanting to lose the advantage I quickly focused my attention on the battle. Since Swellow was also a normal type most of the new ghost type moves he'd learned over at Phoebe's wouldn't work. Which left us with Orin's learned fire type moves."Aerial Ace!""Counter Shield!"Winona immediately went on the offensive demonstrating her gym's signature move. Swellow dive bombed into the ground quickly executing the gym's famed manoeuvre. Aerial Ace was(is) a move that confounds the opponent with blinding speed, almost making the user disappear before seemingly reappearing right in front of the opponent slamming into its target with pinpoint precision.I knew trying to dodge Aerial Ace was a waste of time. So, I commanded Orin to do the next best thing. In his current evolutionary stage, his movement was greatly hampered only being able to perform a single hop in the time it takes for an opponent's attack to land. So, between breaks while training we came up with our own version of Fire Spin one that shielded him inside a fiery tornado. Any would-be attackers would get scorched when trying to get physical with Orin. It didn't do a whole lot of damage but not many pokémon would confidently wade through flames without flinching giving Orin a chance to avoid the attack.Contrary to my expectations Swellow didn't seem to mind getting scorched by flames. The swallow Pokémon bravely penetrated Orin's fire tornado bashing head first into him, flinging the candle Pokémon away in the process."Lit…""You can do it Orin! Use Will-O-Wisp!""You know what to do Swellow!"Teal flames sprang forth out of Orin's wick in Swellow's direction, but strangely enough Winona's Pokémon seemed content to just stay still while using this opportunity to focus his energies. This course of action from our opponents set off a harrowing feeling in my stomach. Orin's flames enveloped the colourful bird Pokémon burning up his once bright plumage. Unlike its previous dip inside our fire spin this time the flames were there to stay the fire type energy now within its body straining the muscle and flaring up intermittently as long as the bird wasn't recalled inside its poké ball or got immediate treatment. Contrary to my expectations Swellow's muscles seemed to have grown larger as if the Pokémon had just come back from an intense session at the gym.'Already trained up the Guts ability!? Winona must be planning to add this Swellow to her personal team. This is bad!'"Brave Bird!""Curse!"I knew my little candle Pokémon had no hope of surviving what came next but I was determined to make that blasted bird pay the price for snatching up Orin's shot at getting his first gym victory. Using destiny Bond was out of Orin's skill level at the moment but he had gotten pretty good at cursing other Pokémon while practicing under Phoebe's tutelage. Swellow tucked in its wings burning bright blue with the amount of flying type energy he was processing in his body to jump up to speeds that were almost too fast to see with the human eye. Brave Bird was a devastating move where a flying type would disregard personal safety to deal as much damage to their opponent as possible regardless of the consequences.But before Swellow had the chance to take him out Orin conjured up a spiritual nail before impaling himself with it. Normally I would never resort to a self harming move but under these circumstances I was forced to in order to win. Swellow had become a danger even to the more senior members of my team Guts wasn't a joke. I've seen videos of raticates taking down Steelix' with just their muscle power while guts was activated. The nail fully hilted itself inside Orin's body acted more akin to a spiritual object not permanently harming the candle Pokémon in any way but it was enough to faint him."Orin Return!"Orin had already fainted so I saw no point in having his unconscious body suffer the attack that was coming his way. Swellow on the other hand was not prepared for the sudden recall the flying type managed to just barely not crash land into the ground pulling up at the last second. Since the bird was now cursed and burned the referee had to make sure that I called out my last Pokémon as fast as possible. There were some trainers that would stall for as much time as possible to eke out as much of an advantage as possible but I wasn't one of those trainers."Go Numsy!"In a bright flash of light my oldest partner appeared a small tremor rocking the battlefield as he did so. He was my ace in the hole for this gym match. With Pellipper gone and her final Pokémon being known to me I was assured that there would be no unexpected shenanigans coming our way. The only thing we had to do is hold out against her roided out bird until the burning and curses did their job. Winona obviously knew she was on the clock and thus wasted no time calling out her next move."Brave Bird!""Protect!"A turquoise energy shield appeared around Numsy's body just before Swellow dive bombed into him. The energy shield would always hold out, only specialized moves are capable of breaking through. However, that didn't mean that we were safe from Swellow's assault. Protect only guaranteed safety against the initial attack, the move becoming less reliable with continued use. While Numsy was busy sheltering behind his energy shield I could already see the effects of being cursed and burned start taking their toll on Swellow's body. Most bird Pokémon weren't known for their hardiness and Swellow's species aren't the exception.'We just need one good hit to make sure Swellow stays down.'"Lava Plume!""Facade!"'She even taught Swellow such a highly specialized move!? This isn't a fifth badge level Pokémon by a long shot!'Numsy dropped his shield and immediately began pumping the entire battlefield with a blanket of scarlet flames centered around Swellow's current position. The flying type Pokémon, disregarding our attack, covered himself in an orange aura flying straight into the sea of flames intending to do as much damage as possible."Ruuupt!""Loooow!"Somehow Swellow managed to get past the first wave of scarlet flames slamming beak first into Numsy. The power of that blow was enough to leave my buddy staggering despite the size difference. That didn't mean he got past the second or third wave though. The bird Pokémon didn't seem to care much about its own well-being, a common psychological effect from having its guts ability activated. This effect on the mind could be mitigated with lots of training but it seemed like WInona hadn't gotten to that part of Swellow's training yet. Consequently, a distinct smell wafted through the battle facility in the aftermath of our Pokémons' clash, one that most closely resembled the fried farfetch'd my grandpa had one time brought home for dinner.Numsy had only taken just one blow from Winona's Pokémon but at a single glance I could already tell he wouldn't hold on against another move of similar power. Luckily, I was fairly sure Swellow was too fatigued to carry on. The bird Pokémon was back in the air struggling to keep his distance. The expression the Pokémon was making was full of fighting spirit, but his body was simply too ravaged for any responsible trainer to let him continue."That's enough! You've done your fair share.""Sweeelloow!""Return!"Swellow didn't seem to agree with his trainer but despite his wishes Winona activated her poké ball's return mechanism anyway. The flying type disappearing in a red beam of light but instead of calling out her last Pokémon she started addressing the elephant in the room."Sorry that you had to see that. When a battle gets really intense like this tailow and their evolved form have a worrying habit to fight till the bitter end. Especially when they are looking to prove themselves.""You don't think that my comments earlier…?""Yeah… he might not admit it, but he is serious about Tranquill."'Now I feel bad… it is not like it's any of my business as her sort of former trainer who Tranquill elects to spend her time with.'"Swellow wants to be acknowledged by us. The best way to cheer him up is to praise his strength while Tranquill is watching."'Fine, since we'll obviously be sticking around for a bit longer, I guess we could do that.'While Victini and I were having a mental conversation Winona saw fit to release her final Pokémon."Go Tranquill!"Our old-time friend reappeared a few feathers out of place but looking energetic enough to give it her best. Numsy gave her a cheery hello despite being worse for wear."Came!""Quill!"After the quick exchange of courtesies both Winona and I wasted no time to issue our next instructions."Rock Slide!""Detect!"Numsy created multiple white orbs of energy around himself. The orbs of energy then turned into large gray rocks which chucked into Tranquill's direction. Winona on the other hand was prepared, deploying the typical evasion tactics typical for flying type specialists. Detect was a special fighting type move that gave the user a brief glimpse of foresight allowing a Pokémon to perfectly evade an attack with no wasted movements. Which is exactly what happened when Tranquill expertly dodged the barrage of rocks flying her way. However, I knew that Tranquill wouldn't be able to keep this up for long, so our opponent tried switching tactics."Dual Wingbeat!""Cover yourself! Yawn!"Tranquill flew closer in an attempt to give my Camerupt a decisive blow, but this is what we wanted. Numsy expelled a copious amount of gas from both his mouth and humps enveloping himself and in a cloud of gas. We long figured out that one's own yawn was unable to put the user to sleep and with a Camerupt's unique physiology Numsy was able to quickly cover the surrounding area with the sleep gas."Get away! Don't breathe in the gas!"Winona tried to warn Tranquill, but it was already too late. Her close proximity to my own Pokémon meant there was no way to avoid inhaling a lungful. Tranquill successfully managed to execrate herself out of the situation but the drowsy expression she made afterwards made it clear this battle was as good as over."Quill...""Numsy if she tries anything, use Protect.""Rupt!""Return!"Winona wisely made the decision to call the match. Avoiding a situation where a sleeping defenseless Tranquill got blasted by Numsy."The gym leader's Tranquill is unable to battle! So, the victory goes to Egon from Lavaridge town!""We did it! Great job Numsy! Take a good rest.""Rupt!"'That was a close one that Swellow gave us a heap of trouble.'I returned my own Pokémon and got off the high rise overlooking the battlefield to receive my winnings. I wasn't particularly impressive during the fight, winning with only one of my Pokémon left standing, so I wasn't betting on Winona letting me have a gander at her gym's stock of technical machines. We walked up to each other, and she gave me the standard handshake congratulating me for my victory followed by her giving me the Featherbadge. We then started talking about the minutia of the battle."That Houndour of yours really pulled the air out of our sails. Without her you might not have won the match.""Yes, she worked hard these last few weeks. I couldn't be prouder. Swellow as well, he almost swept my entire team.""Indeed, I usually reserve him for 6th and 7th level gym matches. At the end of this year's season, he'll get bumped up to eight level if his process holds true.""Wait... is that standard practice to use stronger than appropriate level Pokémon during gym battles?""Sometimes a gym leader will use stronger Pokémon to test trainers who they deem to be at a higher skill level. We also do so if a newbie comes in with a legacy Pokémon inherited from his family. Well... in this case I wanted you to meet Swellow so you could see that he's a standup flying type. You'd still have gotten your badge in any case. That Counter stratagem firmly placed you as fifth badge level worthy in my mind.""Sorry, again... any way I could make it up to him?""I still have to take on challengers until late into the afternoon, but Swellow has the rest of the day off. After he's done recovering at the Pokémon center you can come visit him in our gym's aviary."With that she turned around and walked off probably to greet the next starry-eyed challenger looking to earn him or herself a badge.
Chapter 58 – Scared Straight
The first thing I did after earning myself the Feather badge was to have my Pokémon checked in at the Pokémon center. All of them took a severe walloping during their respective battles especially so in the case of little Orin. After picking up a tray and filling its empty holes with three of my seven poké balls. I walked up to the counter where a younger looking Nurse Joy was waiting for me already anticipating my need for a health professional.
"We just had an intense battle. Could you take care of these three Pokémon?"
"Certainly, they'll be ready for pickup within the hour. Will that be all?"
"Uhm yeah, I was wondering if a Tranquill and Swellow from Winona's gym had already arrived? Our gym battle got a bit too intense, and some things might've been said that hurt one's feelings. I just want an opportunity to properly apologize."
The nurse behind the counter gave me a discerning look before answering the question.
"Any information concerning our patients is protected by our confidentiality clause. But… It is standard policy for our centers to give gym Pokémon priority care. If a trainer let's say you walked all the way over to one of our locations and back to the gym the travel time alone would probably have been sufficient to have those Pokémon treated and sent back over within that time frame."
'Yes, you know where she is right? Winona already gave us a pass to visit the gym's rookery. We'll just go in, praise Swellow's battling prowess in front of Tranquill and make a head start towards Lilycove City.'
"Already?! What about Flannery and Rena?"
'Flannery needs to go back to her grandfather's to help look after all those extra houndour. Her main goals while being our traveling companion have already been achieved. She caught two new Pokémon on her own and now knows what to expect when she debuts as a trainer for next season's circuit. It's still early in the morning, if you can teleport us to route 121's safari zone entrance it'll only be a four hour walk to Lilycove. When we arrive, we can schedule a gym battle with the city's minor gym and still be back in time for dinner with your impressive teleportation skills.'
While I was lining out my plans for the day with Victini we made our way back to the Fortree gym. The foot traffic in front of the facility was still massive but since we didn't have a need to talk with the receptionist this time we just moseyed on through. With Victini staying invisible while giving me directions to the place where we needed to be.
"You sure? I figured the place where the gym keeps all its Pokémon to have better security measures."
"Only really strong Pokémon thieves stand a chance at beating the rookery bosses!"
"Who are the rookery bosses?"
"Skarmory and Altaria! They make sure everyone else behaves and they don't mind visitors. Just go on in!"
With the reassurances coming from Victini I worked up the courage to open the door leading to our destination. I was expecting the Rookery to be a disorganized place with feathers and Pokémon droppings to be strewn all across the floor but contrary to my expectations the place was in pristine condition. With every species of bird Pokémon claiming their own corner of this little paradise. The roof was completely made out of glass and there were multiple exits installed at higher altitudes so that the Pokémon living here could go out whenever they wanted to stretch their wings in the open skies of Fortree City. The various species of Pokémon living here were mostly Hoenn native. Although you could see the odd non native species
The first thing I noticed was the constant chattering between the various kinds of bird Pokémon that lived here. They all seemed to be animatedly discussing various topics.
'What's the general vibe?'
"The Pokémon are mostly talking about food, battling and love gossip."
'Good, they don't seem to mind my presence here. Can you lead us to where Tranquill resides?'
"I know this place like the back of my paw!"
My little rabbit Pokémon had to remain invisible so she couldn't give me visual instructions on which direction to go so instead Victini decided to co-opt the space on top of my cranium and proceed to ratataouille me in the right direction.
I always found the Kalosian Ratata able to puppeteer a human by just pulling strands of hair to be borderline ridiculous, but Victini was able to pull it off, no problems at all. She guided me all the way to the back where I could spot the first glimpse of Tranquill enjoying a light meal while accompanied by the same Swellow we just beat less than an hour ago.
"Tranquill! We've come to visit you!"
I released all the Pokémon latched onto my trainer's belt. Sans Numsy, Orin and Raven who were still receiving treatment at the Pokémon center. Two of them having already faced Tranquill in battle so really only Orin was missing out on this. What I did not expect was our little lightshow drawing the attention of some of the other gym residents.
My entire team gave faint cry's at the sight of their missing teammate and soon enough the bunch of them huddled around listening in on Tranquill giving a much impassioned speech. Victini translating the more important bits to me in a play by play. While that was happening I was locked in the middle of a stare off with the Swellow who was courting our former team member.
"You know… I came here not just to see how Tranquill was doing. It is also because I felt sorry for being too harsh with my words. You've already proven your strength in front of us, Swellow, it's just that… humans use other criteria for selecting a suitable life partner."
"It varies from person to person but typically it revolves around having matching personalities. In the end It doesn't matter how shiny or well-kept one's looks or plumage are if all you do is bicker when together in the same room."
I didn't need Victini's help to understand that part.
"Alright but just take things slow with her she hasn't even fully evolved yet. I am not ready to become an uncle yet."
"Vi!" "Nor me an auntie!"
The sound of the invisible Victini startled Swellow but left the rest of my team and Tranquill unphased having gotten used to having the invisible stalker rabbit's antics. And also leaving me to have to explain the origins of the disembodied voice to the confused bird.
"Don't mind her, she's just a Kecleon that I recently caught while staying in this city. Kecleon just loves pulling a fast one on anyone she meets."
Swellow was giving me that look as if he completely didn't believe me but didn't want to make the effort to argue the point.
"You think he's buying it?"
'No, but who is he going to tell? Next time try emulating Kecleon a bit better. You don't sound like a three feet tall reptilian in the slightest.'
I took this moment in time to divide my attention back to my other Pokémon who were just about done listening to Tranquill bragging about her new trainer and living conditions. Especially Halo seemed taken aback by the luxurious lifestyle Tranquill had been enjoying while living at the gym.
'This is dangerous… one more tall tale about Tranquill's personal groomer and the communal gym chefs and she might instigate a rebellion.'
"What a wonderful tale Tranquill! Too bad none of us are flying types. Let this be a lesson to us all that with hardwork and dedication we too might get to enjoy such benefits one day. I bet you Tranquill has to work extra hard now that she's a gym Pokémon way harder than being on a regular team, right?"
Halo's excitability simmered down after hearing Tranquill's eager affirmation. The rest of the team not really caring overly much about living in opulence to begin with.
Visiting the gym to catch up with Tranquill was a pleasant affair. Seeing her brimming with positive vibes assured me that I made the right move by contacting the Fortree City gym and having Winona adopt her. Staying for longer proved to be an impossibility due to Halo's instincts as a bug type kicking in. Somehow being near dozens of bird Pokémon whom she has never met before gave her a near panic attack. Necessitating me to call our short visit to a close. Halo tried her best to suppress her constant twitching each time the shadow cast by a flying type Pokémon passed over us but couldn't quite cover up her discomfort. She was completely fine with Tranquill partly due to the fact that the two of them have known each other since her hatching day. Which was probably what allowed her to conquer that instinctual fear, but that same closeness did not extend to other flying types in the rookery.
So, after recalling most of my team, me and Victini said our goodbyes to Swellow and Tranquill and made our way back to the Pokémon center where nurse Joy dutifully handed over the rest of my team after which we looked for an inconspicuous location to teleport away from.
"Right around here will do. Unless you want to go all the way back to the Kecleon shop?"
Victini did not even bother to answer my enquiry before grabbing me by the scruff and teleporting us all the way to our destination. As usual teleportation was so fast my senses didn't even register the transition before, I found myself back in familiar territory right outside the entrance to the safari zone. Usually, I would take the time to go say hello old man Jack, but I knew we were short on time. We had to get back to Rena and the others in time for dinner or else they'd needlessly worry. The latter half of route 121 was filled with tall grass and some of it would grow tall enough to come up to my shoulders. As such I resolved to keep at least one of my Pokémon out at all times this time that being Raven. Her powerful nose would sense any approaching wild Pokémon long before our eyes could.
"Thanks again girl. Once we reach the halfway point and stop for our lunchbreak you'll be getting an extra berry."
I quite enjoyed navigating the route with Raven by my side. She made for excellent company unlike my other canine companion. This one didn't mind if I messed up her fur with spontaneous pats and cuddles. Although her coat wasn't as luxuriant as Rena's being short matted and covered in bonelike spurs, just the extra enthusiasm made up for a great deal of these shortcomings. We just continued on walking until we came across an open clearing with a large tree planted in the middle. The tree didn't bear any kind of fruits so it shouldn't have been claimed by any of the more territorial Pokémon living in these parts perfect for use as a picnic spot. The first thing I decided to do was to release all my Pokémon and leave them to do their own thing as I started prepping their lunches. I've become quite adept at activating the release mechanisms in one motion opening each of their respective balls foregoing the need to unlatch them from my belt.
"Rupt!" "Lit!" "Vess!" "Nitan!"
"Okay guys, it's nearing lunch time! You can go out and play while me and Glove take care of all the food prepping."
Over the course of my journey I've come to learn that Glove was quite adept at following simple cooking instructions. It all started back in Lavaridge when I was cooking up Halo's first meal after getting the go ahead from Nurse Mary that it was safe for her to start eating solid food. Being a trained guard palace he insisted on overseeing the cooking process to make sure no one poisoned Halo's meals. According to Glove this was standard procedure for personal guard Pokémon. Not seeing the harm in it I let him watch me. This eventually turned into him being my go to guy when it comes to food preparation. In hindsight, him being the only Pokémon on the team with opposable thumbs automatically made him the best at handling all the kitchen utensils. Although I did insist on being the only one handling the kitchen knife.
Victini brought out my deck of playing cards and insisted on engaging in a round of Blitz with the rest of the group. They had worked out a new system where the little rabbit would use her psychic powers to hold the card for the Pokémon in the team who didn't have the required number of digits to hold the cards in front of them. Which was a blessing because I was tired of buying a new set of cards each time the previous cards got worn out by being drenched in Pokémon saliva.
So, while I was busy cutting up our berry supply, Glove was helping out by weighing the dry stuff and giving correct portion sizes to each member of the team. It didn't take long to have all their bowls lined up and filled with food and while I was at it sneakily putting one extra diced oran berry in Raven's bowl without the rest of the team's foreknowledge. Although Victini did give me the evil eye after I finished doing so, likely having noticed my sleight of hand with her psychic senses.
"Ah this is nice… no spectral tricksters just the team and the open road."
Most of my team were basking in the afterglow of their well deserved meal when suddenly we could hear the sound of lightning, coming out from the open ocean, followed up by a sudden change in wind direction.
'It'll probably be best if we get out of here before the storm hits.'
I was about to pack up my stuff when Raven, who had also been awakened by the sudden noise, started growling threateningly in the direction of a nearby shrubbery.
"She says there's a stalker hiding in the bushes."
"No, it smells like a human."
I felt a pang of fear emanating from the back of my head. Victini had quite openly been enjoying her lunch time meal with us, not to mention all the time spent playing card games with the rest of the team. If this was just a regular trainer traveling the routes he or she would have come out by now to exchange greetings. The fact that this person didn't do so probably meant something more nefarious was going on.
'Tini, can you turn invisible and drag this person out in the open?'
She was the best person for the job being the only one of us able to stealthily ambush and grab a hold of this personage without being noticed or stopped. I've some personal experience in that regard Victini's telekinetic abilities are such that it was almost impossible to get loose once you are in range of her. In order to calm down my growling Houndour I whispered in her ears our plan of approach.
"Victini's on the case. Let's just casually walk near the bushes without rousing our stalker's suspicion."
Raven and myself slowly got closer to the edge of the clearing but before we had the chance to look behind the bushes Victini already informed me of the stalker's current status.
"Vi! VI!" "They're gone!"
Hearing her talking out loud like that both me and Raven sped forward already aware at what we were going to find behind those bushes. Once we got past that shrubbery what awaited us there was absolute zilch aside from the obvious hiking boot indents embedded onto the ground there were no signs of our supposed stalker.
"Can you still find them girl?"
Raven studiously sniffed the tracks that were left behind before doing a quick turn around and conveying her findings.
"She says there is only one scent trail, an older one leading to this bush but there is no new one leaving it."
"Teleportation, Raven's growl must have alerted them."
"These are most likely professionals if the wind current's direction hadn't suddenly changed due to the incoming storm, we might have never noticed them at all. Whichever group hired this person to suss you out will now have photographic evidence of your existence."
"Vi! Vi!" "I don't want to go back into hiding!"
"You don't pay private investigators to shadow a rookie trainer without having credible knowledge of an objective. Whoever did this already knew that you existed and just wanted confirmation. That leaves out the typical seedy organizations like poaching rings and insurgency groups. The organization that hired this fellow probably just wants to keep tabs on you.
"Vi… Vi?" "So… we're safe?"
"I don't know… you think somebody we know blabbed?"
"Vi! Vi!" "I don't believe it! All those humans are my friends! Except maybe… that crazy old hermit?"
"Yeah, that old man was pretty suspicious but… it doesn't seem like he would benefit from tattling on us. The guy lives off route in the woods all the way over in Unova. If he wanted money or fame there are a number of other ways he could get those, especially with his particular abilities."
"Some random passerby might have just gotten lucky at spotting you and shared that information with his coworkers at the watercooler. In any case pointing fingers will get us nowhere."
We finally made it to Lilycove city. After getting scared by our secret stalker, I made it a point to hurry on along the way. Even though there wasn't any immediate danger of Victini and I getting ambushed by Pokémon thieves, the encounter did leave me fearful for the future. This wasn't some motion picture where the bad guys get beat by rookie trainers. If they wanted to steal from you they'd come in force. It didn't matter how powerful the Pokémon they sought to capture was when they could just wear it down in a battle of attrition. Escaping via teleportation wasn't a sure bet either, any poacher worth their salt looking to capture a valuable psychic type Pokémon would have a partner Pokémon with them capable of using the move Mean Look which prevented their quarry from fleeing.
The sight of the city somewhat calmed my nerves even the most hardened poachers wouldn't dare operate inside the confines of civilized society. People and Pokémon littered the streets. Lilycove City was a major tourist destination because of the litany of contests being held here. The contest hall in this city is the place where all the top coordinators gather to compete against each other. Tourists looking to experience Hoenn's contest scene all flocked to this city to come see the best of the best.
"Now remember we just need to make an appointment with the gym leader and then it's straight back to Rena and the others."
It was around halfway into the afternoon which meant we had a couple of hours until we were expected to come back to Phoebe's family castle. Halo and Glove were both out of their balls experiencing the urban landscape with me. Halo was especially excited since I promised to her that we would schedule a battle for her as well. One of the many duties of a gym trainer was to have practice battles with novice trainers. Halo had matured enough that I was comfortable having her battle first badge level Pokémon. Especially since this gym specialized in grass type Pokémon.
Walking around with the two of them was a bit slow going but I came prepared. Glove now had a pair of adult sized mittens on to avoid chafing his hands on concrete. Halo on the other hand was not hitching a ride with me; she had grown large enough that doing so would have me huffing and puffing all the way to the gym. She was miffed because I forbid her from riding on Numsy's back but large cities like this one had rules concerning the number of Pokémon trainers could have out at any one time and whenever Halo's out and about Glove insists on being her plus one for bodyguarding reasons.
We asked random strangers on the street for information on the gym's whereabouts. Strangely enough most people living here had no knowledge whatsoever about the minor gym representing the city until finally a nice lady told us that the gym was right next to the giant lighthouse near Lilycove's commercial beaches. I could've looked it up beforehand but exploring new places is half the fun of being a trainer on the circuit. The city was fairly large, so it took us about an hour to get to the place we were looking for. Halo being the least athletic of all my Pokémon started complaining halfway through but I reminded her that being able to cross long distances on her own was basically a requisite of being a trainer's Pokémon.
The gym wasn't any sort of traditional building instead being a large greenhouse filled with all sorts of flora. The plants near the glass walls grew thick enough that it was impossible to see through and the only way inside was through the main entrance. Most gyms had opening hours where visitors could just show up unannounced to come see matches or book an appointment so without thinking overly long about it I tried to open the main door but found out that it was currently locked. Being left with no other alternatives I rapped my knuckles across the glass door hoping that would get the attention of those inside.
After a hot minute we could hear the locking mechanism on the door being turned before the door was pushed slightly ajar. Unlike my expectations the one who opened the door was not a gym trainer or the leader but a frisky looking sceptile.
"Uhm sorry for the disturbance. My name is Egon from Lavaridge town, and I was looking to book an appointment with the leader for a sixth level gym battle. This is the Lilycove city gym, correct?"
Having elucidated our purpose for coming here the sceptile eased up a bit now fully opening the main gate.
"He says that his trainer closed up early for the day and is now out enjoying herself at the contest hall."
'The contest hall… that place is massive. We'd never be able to find the gym leader in those huge crowds. Pokémon typically don't involve themselves with administrative duties but maybe…'
"Are there any Pokémon here capable of taking a reservation?"
"He says to follow him to the computer."
'Wow this Sceptile sure is talented. The gym leader must thank her lucky Jirachi every day for having this hard of a worker helping out.'
"Glove is it okay if I recall you for this? A large fire type such as yourself would probably scare some of the grass types living inside."
Glove gave me his assent although somewhat begrudgingly. So I returned him to his poké ball. I figured Halo could stay out because of her being a bug type. Thus far she's only experienced what's it like to traverse open fields and swamps. Being allowed inside a tropical paradise like this would probably make for a positive experience.
I gingerly followed the large bipedal tree lizard inside. Eager to get this done with but also kind of curious what the inside of the greenhouse looked like. I could immediately spot all kinds of different grass type Pokémon frolicking around. The quantity of Pokémon wasn't anything close to that of a major league gym but was still a respectable number. I saw multiple seedot clamped onto the branches of berry trees dozing off happily. Seedot didn't really do much to promote a tree's growth but some people couldn't get enough of the little tykes. Seedot only clamped onto trees that were in pristine condition so farmers used them as an indicator to discover which of their berry trees were diseased or damaged.
While Sceptile was leading us all the way to the back of the greenhouse. I was distracted by all the different kinds of Pokémon. The gym was home to all of the native Hoenn grass types, but I could spot a few exceptions. Mainly a lone Bellossom who was practicing her dance moves while a group of energetic budew watched on trying to emulate the flower Pokémon. Eventually we got to the computer in question. The machine was wrapped in plastics probably designed to protect the pc from suffering water damage from the sprinkler system. Sceptile managed to turn on the computer and clicked open a registry file before pointedly asking me a question.
"He wants to know if next week Thursday in the afternoon is okay with you."
'If Rena keeps up her training schedule that should work out perfectly.'
"Yes, and could you also schedule a single battle versus one for the youngest on my team on the same day? That will be Halo's debut battle. Isn't that right princess?"
I quickly spun around, not seeing the team's baby almost gave me a silent heart attack. Somehow while Sceptile was leading us to get registered the little bug type must have wandered off.
Sceptile let out a sigh of exasperation tapped the keyboard a couple of times to confirm our reservation before shutting down the PC and taking us with him on what I would have expected to become a wild Swanna chase. However, it didn't take long at all before Sceptile found our derelict and wayward Pokémon. Sceptiles were known for being expert trackers and his sharp eyes easily followed the trail of small indents my little bug type while she was off doing who knows what.
We found the little tyke at the base of a mago berry tree wrapped up and in the process of being carried aloft by an upset looking Tangela. The horns on her crowning her head set ablaze by the indignity of being manhandled like a peasant. It didn't take an alakazam to figure out what happened.
"No! Bad! Sceptile has graciously allowed us to come inside as guests. Running off on your own just because you smelled something delicious is not how someone descended from royalty would behave."
Over time I had realized that in order to discourage vagrant behavior the best tool in my socialization kit was to equate bad actions to oafish or peasant-like character development. Halo had this innate drive to be aloof or somehow more distinguished than your regular everyday Pokémon. Naturally my admonishing words caused her unjustified anger to quickly melt away to be replaced by a more demure attitude.
"It's okay as long as you apologize for what you've done. Say sorry to the nice Mr. Sceptile."
In the end we were escorted outside with no hard feelings. The older Pokémon was understanding of my plight as a newly appointed stepdad. In fact, Sceptile even shared some stories on how his kids got into all sorts of trouble back when they had just hatched from their eggs.
Victini was oddly quiet while all of this was happening but as we moved away from the gym, I couldn't help but notice traces of pink berry juices all over her mouth.
Chapter 59 – Ability Power
After successfully scheduling a reservation at the Lilycove city gym me and the gang resolved to make our way back to Mt. Pyre but before leaving we first had to make sure that Victini acclimated herself to a point of return. Teleporters have to at least spend some amount of time in places they intend to anchor themselves to. In our case we had a perfectly serviceable lighthouse which was located right next to the gym. Victini, having grown up inside a lighthouse during her childhood, was eager to compare this building to her old home. Sadly, one look at the no trespassing sign outside of the building shut down our visitation plan real fast.
"Vi!" "Let's go in anyway!"
"This lighthouse is still being used, Tini. If we break something, we'll be in a heap of trouble. How about you go and join those Wingull sunbathing on the railings of the viewing room? I am fairly sure the sights will be amazing."
"Vi! Vi!" "Fine! But the best part of any lighthouse is the basement"
Victini floated off invisibly to the top of the lighthouse to take in the view but also to scare the living daylights out of a few unsuspecting wingull. While I took this opportunity to sit on a nearby bench just content to enjoy the ocean view with the only one on the team who could appreciate the peace and quiet.
"I am sorry… I didn't know she would run off like that. That Tangela was a bit heavy handed but at least this way she's learned an important lesson about wandering off while on private property."
"From now on you may veto any decision I make in relation to Halo's well-being."
My concession seemed to have assuaged Glove's worries somewhat seeing as the fire type went back to enjoying the view with me. It was a joy seeing the local wailmer and staryu population happily swimming along together with the tourists. I wasn't much of a fan of going to the beach but playing with wild Pokémon was one of my all-time favorite hobbies. Regrettably since my entire team had a natural aversion to large bodies of water, I couldn't justify spending my time frolicking about with the rest of the beachgoers.
We sat there like that for what seemed to be around an hour. The monotony only broken by an adventurous krabby looking to beggar food scraps off of us. Naturally the crustacean's bravery earned him half a lava cookie. I was about to fall asleep when Victini gave me the equivalent of a brain dm to let us know she was done sightseeing. I turned around and noticed Glove had already fallen asleep, so I silently returned him to his poké ball.
My little gremlin wasted no time grabbing me by the collar and teleporting us off to Phoebe's home. We reappeared right outside the front gate. Somehow or another it was a complete hassle for her to teleport inside the castle. Victini likened it to jumping in a vat of grease; she could do it but with no sense of accuracy or finesse. We walked inside but not before calling out to whoever might be currently present inside the castle's hallway to let them know it was us.
We heard a quick series of shuffling pawsteps before a red blur launched itself into my arms.
"I've only been away for a single day. Did you miss me that badly?"
"She did what!? Never mind… is dinner served? We're starving."
Before exiting the hallway, I took off my hiking shoes first and slipped on a pair of comfortable indoors slippers. It was actually quite uncommon to uphold this archaic practice since most households keep Pokémon who eventually trek dirt on their clean floors anyway. This wasn't the case for Phoebe's fancy castle since ghost types mostly just tended to float from location to location. She "accidentally" forgot to tell me during my first stay here. That's when I found out those servitor ghosts could prank with the best of them.
On the way over to the dining room Rena started yipping all about how she's so lucky to have me as her trainer and not to ever leave her alone with Flannery and her little brother again. She got so affectionate that I started wondering if it would be a good idea to have all my Pokémon be looked after by Flannery for at least one time. Although I could sympathize with Rena having to deal with her smaller brother's snarky comments while being under the direction of the hyperactive redhead.
Entering the dining room, I noticed Flannery, Phoebe and her grandparents were already there waiting for us.
"Welcome back! How'd it go?"
Instead of telling them I pulled out the feather badge which up until this point was securely stowed away in my front row pocket. Unlike all the other trainers this circuit, who started off with a league issued complementary badge case, I kept all of my earned badges in my backpack or sometimes my pockets if I was planning to show off in front of other people.
"Congratulations Egon! Now you'll just have to earn five more to qualify for the Ever Grande conference. Let's eat!"
All the people at the table acknowledged my accomplishment before starting dinner and while I regaled them with the play by play of my match with Winona. Victini happily zipped around stealing choice morsels off of everybody's plates. I released some of my partners while I was busy with my regaling of today's events so they could eat with the rest of us. Everyone aside of Numsy had a free pass to come join us during mealtimes which I was sure to make up for with an extra full plate once we got back to quarters that were more accommodating for his size and weight. When I got to the part about our secret stalker the grandparents became alarmed. Phoebe's grandfather shared some of his insights on the matter.
"Hmm… this is troubling news. And Victini couldn't sense this person beforehand?"
"Yes, usually she notices right away when a wild Pokémon or person comes up to us."
"I've heard rumors of some dark type specialists slowly becoming more immune to being perceived by the mental senses of psychic types alongside their growth as a trainer. Hiring the services of such an individual couldn't have come cheap. To not have opted to try and capture Victini right away tells me that this must have been an on the book assignment. Hiring a private investigator to track you down is considered perfectly legal as long as that same person doesn't come back another day for a repeat performance. Still… I'd advise you to forego traveling through the routes from now on."
"We still have five badges to earn, that isn't going to work."
"Victini is capable of teleporting you to most cities. You just have to use your gym winnings to hire teleportation services to the towns she hasn't visited yet."
I was a firm believer that traveling on the routes was what made a journey memorable. If one just teleported between cities to finish up their circuit a lot of that valuable experience would be lost. As I am ruminating on possible alternatives Flannery took this opportunity to speak up.
"Grandpa wants me to come back. If Egon is no longer able to travel I guess it would be time for me to head on home. Oooh! I can't wait to introduce you to grandpa's ninetales!"
Flannery's Vulpix who was busy dozing off on her lap pulled one eye open and gave a short mewl to confirm he heard his new trainer before falling back asleep again.
"Egon, can I borrow Victini tomorrow pretty pleaseee?"
"She can teleport me all the way to Lavaridge in one go right? Phoebe says her Grandpa's Xatu can only get me as far as Mauville city."
'Can you? That's pretty far away.'
"Vi! Vi!" "Of course I can!"
"Vi… Vi!" "…Four berries! And it has to be ones I haven't tried yet."
"One for a single teleport, two because it's extra far. And I also need to get back so it's four!"
That last bit she didn't deign to share with the rest of the people at the table so I helpfully conveyed her demands to Flannery.
"Four berries she hasn't had before?! Hmmm can you give me a list? The gym's pantry should have what I need."
"It's fine you can just let her in, and she'll pick out four of them on her own."
I avoided telling Flannery that Victini wasn't above grabbing a few extra berries while there but it was implied. Most Pokémon couldn't control themselves around food especially so in the face of rare berries. Market prices strangely correlated to how irresistible berries were to an individual Pokémon. Luckily for her Victni had a limited amount of berries she could nab with her on the way back due to the limitations on the move teleport requiring the user to be in touch with the being or object. Although I was curious about one aspect of Victini's strange request.
'How come you aren't asking for four Custap berries. I know you have that sweet tooth.'
"I kept thinking about it and I was inspired by a very special Pokémon."
"You don't mean that Wailmer?"
"Yes! His brave story inspired me to set out to accomplish goals of my own! From now on one of my minor dreams in life is to have tasted every single berry that's out there!"
"I am happy for you Tini."
After we had woken up the following morning, I wasted no time to serve my team their breakfast meals. After which Victini zipped off to Flannery's guestroom to bring her back to Lavaridge town. While she was away me and the team were set to go back to the mountain's summit to resume our training. I had gotten some new ideas after battling with Winona which I was eager to try out but first I had to deal with another problem, this one shaped in the form of a crazed childhood friend.
"Egon! This is the second day in a row Victini's not available for our practice spars. What are you going to do about that?"
"Uhmm… she should be back before midday. If you are still around, you could ask her to spar with you then. Or we could do so in the evening."
Just like a machoke in the gym, Phoebe was determined to keep making those gains. I've seen for myself just how much her team has improved by facing the overwhelming force that is Victini. At this point my partner had to put in serious effort to keep defeating the ghost type specialist's Pokémon. Facing off against Phoebe helped us learn to deal with all manner of tricks the competition might throw at us at the conference, so it was a mutually beneficial situation.
"I can't! Me and Glacia are having a scrimmage match in just a few hours. Don't think you'll get off scot free though, this goes on your tally! Tomorrow, you'll owe me two extra sparring sessions!"
Finished, saying what she had come to convey Phoebe stormed off probably to cajole her grandpa's Xatu into teleporting her to that supposed meeting place. Phoebe had been more irritable as of late and with the end of the season coming closer, she'd have to work extra hard to get into the top four on the ace trainer rankings.
I was about to ask my own psychic type Pokémon for a lift to the mountain's summit when I realized that Victini had gone with Flannery.
"…Screwed myself, didn't I?"
Making sure Rena was on time to soak up all of the sun's rays was paramount. One missed opportunity would add at least another two days' worth on her schedule. Time we couldn't afford to lose. I wasn't planning on abusing Phoebe's family's hospitality for any longer than I had to.
"It's okay I'll just have to sprint to the top to make it in time before the sun rises. How bad could that be?"
The silhouette of the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, and I wasted no time to release all my team members out of their respective balls. Within a moment's notice I had my entire team surrounding me eager to hear about my new training plan for our last week's stay here. Somehow or another the little Wynaut who had taken to living in the castle had followed me all the way up here keeping pace with my frantic running. The blue sneak had taken quite well to training, even though my focus was on strengthening up my own Pokémon, it was often with him as a practice target. Wynaut's reasoning remained a mystery to me other than the fact that the friendly Pokémon just liked being part of a group.
"Ah! Wynaut you're here that's good. This next part of my training plan also involves you."
"Okay everyone let's huddle up!"
I got low to the ground while the rest of my team joined me in a semicircle.
"Okay our last match with Winona has taught me that we should really be working on mastering our innate abilities. From sixth badge level and up the gym Pokémon will be proficient in the use of their own abilities and to stay ahead of the game we should match in that regard."
"Yes. Now I've compiled a list of known and unknown abilities each of you could theoretically learn how to use. For the most part I will be reserving the right to choose which ability you will be working on unless their worth in battle is about equal. Of course I will take into consideration your personal preferences."
I pulled out a piece of printed paper showcasing images of Pokémon abilities at work. To more accurately illustrate to the team how learning to use such an ability would be beneficial to them in battle. While they went over the printed images I addressed my oldest and most trusted partner first.
"Okay Numsy, your species can develop three separate abilities. Magma Armor, Solid Rock or Anger Point. Let's go over them one by one, Magma Armor makes it so a fire type Pokémon's internal temperature which is usually way hotter in the core can be more evenly spread around the body. Making it almost impossible to get encased in ice from moves like Ice Beam or Blizzard. I've also heard that it helps Pokémon develop faster while still in the egg."
"No! I am not going to rent you out to breeding facilities! If we are that strapped for cash, I'll take a second job. Anyway, the second ability Solid Rock cuts the power of super effective moves on you by roughly a third. To develop this ability, you'll have to work up your tolerance against such moves."
"Yes, every day preferably from a strong water type."
The rest of the group gave Numsy looks of pity. With all of them being fire types they could well imagine how arduous that type of training would be.
"Anger point… I refuse to actively participate in helping you develop this ability. Not a single responsible trainer would agree to do so."
"It requires one to take on debilitating blows while building up one's anger to the one which has inflicted said wounds on you. Pokémon with this ability are usually the victims of an abusive trainer. The body learns how to build up hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol at an astonishing rate. When this ability is triggered your physique's potential for violence is maximized."
My description of this ability quieted down the rest of the group. My team understood the serious nature of the topic I was discussing with them.
"I am not saying all Pokémon with this ability have such a background. You occasionally hear stories of some Pokémon willingly undergoing… the process. Pokémon living in the wild could naturally obtain this ability. Tauros frequently lock horns especially during their mating season. Them accidentally goring each other is not an uncommon occurrence. In any case… have you made your decision Numsy?"
"A solid choice ha! See what I did there?"
My brief attempt at levity seemed to have pulled the rest of the team out of their ponderous stupor. With a gleam in their eyes, they were ready to hear the rest of my training plan.
"Rena is already working on her ability, Glove already has his activated so that leaves us Orin, Raven and Halo."
"Tini's ability is too esoteric; it might already be in use, and we wouldn't know. Let's talk about your own options. It would be either Flash Fire, Flame Body Infiltrator or… Shadow Tag. I am going to be honest here and tell you that I've no idea how to work on infiltrator. The first two are quite easy to train up. Flash Fire converts another's flames into your own core boosting the fire power of your moves. You can imagine how that would be trained up. Flame Body is to leave a lasting burn on an opponent after he or she makes physical contact with you, again it also helps with hatching eggs. Shadow Tag is the signature ability of the Wobuffet line. It prevents the opponent from leaving the battlefield or running away in the wild although ghost type Pokémon are inherently resistant to any attempts at locking shadows with them."
At my mentioning of Shadow Tag's origins the rest of my team turned around to look at Wynaut who had huddled up with the rest of us listening on as I explained my training plans.
"Yes, I have no idea how to train up Shadow Tag, but Wynaut might know. Even if he didn't develop the ability himself, he's been living with the wynaut colony on mirage island. There are very good odds of him knowing how."
Orin and Wynaut were having a back and forth between themselves. With Victini absent I had trouble figuring out what they were talking about. In the end the two of them seemed to have come to some sort of understanding.
"Oh! So, in exchange for Wynaut teaching Orin his family's secrets he wants us to find a capable trainer for him."
'Not many trainers would be willing to put in the effort of training a Pokémon who can only defend and redirect. They'd have to be smart… smart enough to see the inherent value Wynaut possesses.'
"How about this… After our gym battle at the Lilycove city gym our next destination is Mossdeep city. There, they are well known for training psychic type Pokémon. Your best odds of finding a good trainer is to look amongst them. We can bring you along with us and when we arrive you can go looking for a trainer on the island."
Deeming my offer acceptable, Wynaut used his armlike ears to grab a hold of Orin and hauled him off to one of his secret hiding places. The blue goblin had a penchant for setting up little hidey holes all over the mountain. Where he could privately engage in one of his all-time favorite hobbies, watching people and Pokémon go through their daily activities.
"Okay I guess that's settled then. Halo you're up next."
"Unlike the others you should not feel the need to worry overly much on attaining an ability. You are still not quite fully grown so there's no pressure."
"I have knowledge on two possible abilities for your species. Either Flame Body like what I previously proposed to Orin or Swarm. Swarm is an ability exclusive to bug type Pokémon it boosts the power of your bug type moves in a pinch. I personally don't know the training methods that would allow you to achieve this state. We could start working on Flame Body now or you'll have to wait a bit and when we get home I'll look up more information on the topic."
I couldn't quite understand Halo's poké speak but this sounded like she was eager to get to work right away. Implying that Flame Body was her preferred option.
"Alright then that'll be our target goal for now though I'll need you to start working on the move bug bite. You're still a bit off from properly channeling bug type energy to form an attack. So for now it's best if you start your abductor and adductor muscles a workout. When you can chew through this piece of rope that I brought along we'll know you're ready for the next stage."
The little bug type enthusiastically grabbed the rope I brought along and started the long and arduous process of giving her mandibles a workout. By my estimate it would take her about a week to chew through that rope. After which she'd be ready to attempt a real Bug Bite.
I now gave my attention to the last Pokémon who was in need of figuring out which ability to train up.
"Raven, you'll have it the easiest out of everyone on the team. There are two primary abilities your species can develop. Flash Fire or Early Bird. The latter of which we haven't discussed yet. Early Bird allows you to have some self-control when facing off against opponents who try to force you asleep. Whether through hypnosis, a lullaby, sleep-inducing dust or a gas move like yawn. It'll allow you to shake off these effects quicker and resume battling. Naturally to do this you'll have to work on your body's circadian clock. I set up the alarm on my Xtransceiver, you go to sleep and try to wake up at the exact moment the alarm goes off. This training method gives you severe acute insomnia, but the results speak for themselves."
"Beauty sleep? Okay then I guess we'll be working on Flash Fire."
'I never figured Raven to be a Pokémon that concerned herself with appearances. Well, you learn something new every day.'
Each of my team members now had something to work on. Rena was eager to help her fellow canine Pokémon by starting her off with mild doses of intermittent Ember showers to slowly work up Raven's tolerance. Orin was still away with Wynaut and Glove kept watch over Halo to make sure she wasn't overdoing it with the rope. That left me with my old buddy who was less than eager to start his training.
"It's probably best that we start off with a shallow pool of water and work our way up. Let's head on over to the travelers' shrine and ask Chingling if he knows any good places."
The two of us made our way over to the shrine. I made it a point to always come visit the place at least once a day to switch out the stale growing lava cookies that we've left on the altar. By this point Victini and I had mostly accepted that a visit from one of the eon duo was not in the cards for us. At least Chingling and his parents were always happy to see us come visit and we had become very familiar with the happy family. The father and mother made use of their ample free time by taking up hobbies. Daddy Chimecho wrote chōka, a form of poetry that had become fairly popular with the older demographic in Hoenn and his partner spent most of her time growing herbs to be used for tea. Naturally since they didn't have hands, they used telekinesis for almost everything.
"That sound… as always it's a pleasure."
"The couple seemed frantic about something as they waved their smallish stubby arms around. It didn't take long for me to figure out what had happened. The empty altar was more than enough to fill us in."
"That's great news! And did they like it?"
The duo bobbed their heads up and down. By this point I was starting to get exasperated by our difficulties communicating with each other.
"You can link minds with me. Victini is off bringing the red-haired girl who filled in for me yesterday back to her hometown."
Victini made it a point to make it clear to all psychic type Pokémon that my mind was off-limits. The little rabbit being gone for the moment I found no issue with having the loving couple connect with me telepathically. The foreign mental presence of what I suspected to be the female Chimecho brushed up against my surface thoughts.
"Pertaining to your earlier question, yes the offered tribute was much enjoyed."
"Did you ask what it would take to have them come visit more often?"
Victini and I have gone over many hypothetical scenarios with the couple over tea. It was to all of our best interests to somehow persuade the Eon duo to come visit the shrine more frequently. Having their duties as shrine watchers become important once more was a step up from their current situation.
"This one was a first-time visitor no more than fifty cycles old. She said that she'd be delighted to come visit each full lunar rotation if we keep a supply of similar tasting tributes prepared."
"Excellent! My grandma's cookies are the best! Do Phoebe's parents know?"
"My mate has just now informed his bonded human. We are all very excited and are now currently discussing renovation plans for the shrine."
"That reminds me, is Chingling available? We are currently looking for a water source. Numsy will be undergoing resistance training."
"Our little one is currently visiting all his playmates who live nearby. Most likely bragging about our good fortune."
It was at this moment that I felt another presence connecting with my mind space, this one feeling like it belonged there.
"Egon… Who is this other Pokémon!?"
'Wait! I can explain! Just read my short-term memory.'
Chimecho quickly disconnected. Not eager to invoke eight pounds worth of fiery wrath. Victini was about to teach me what's what until she properly processed what just happened, her anger completely forgotten.
"Yay! I'll finally be able to meet another like me!"
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