Evan was right about the training being hell. In our very first lesson he wanted me and Axew to fight him and his Haxorus. From what I could make out through his accent (called Northern Galarian here) he wanted to establish a strength based pecking order.
Dragon Types are a proud group of species, so to get them to listen you need to beat them fairly or to raise them from a young age and have them imprint on you as a parent/trainer figure. Evan was using the former method to have Axew acknowledge him and Haxorus as his mentors, while he wanted me to use the latter method so that Axew would listen to me as he got stronger and evolved further down the line.
As you can imagine, we were beaten in one move, although they let Axew use Scratch and Bite a few times to let him know the power difference between them. After Axew had healed up, he seemed to be in awe of Haxorus’ power and would use every chance he had to be close to Haxorus, trying to mimic it.
After our disastrous first battle Evan had me and Axew do physical training together, which was usually just running laps around the city until one of us gave up. Unfortunately for me, he said that in order to cement my place as Axews trainer in his mind I would have to constantly outdo him in things like this. So, I was forced to constantly try and compete with a Pokemon in terms of endurance. Luckily both of us were out of shape, so we were pretty even in terms of endurance.
The second type of training he had us do was practising Axews moves, and set our end goal as developing his first ability, Rivalry, after we had 4 battle-ready moves.
This was exciting to me because I was finally able to use what my trainer course was teaching me, while Axew was excited because he could become stronger. As my course had stated, Pokemon can store energy and release it as moves or abilities. However, if this energy was released without a ‘conversion’ then moves would be typeless. So our main goal in our move training was to focus on converting the energy into different types the moment Axew uses a move.
Currently, we were working on Bite, since it was the only move out of the 3 Axew knew that wasn’t a Normal Type move. He could already channel the Dark Type energy well but needed a few seconds standing still to convert the energy before he channelled it into his mouth. Evan said that this was “unacceptable” and that to be battle-ready a move had to finish converting energy in less than a second while on the move and ready to dodge other attacks. The reason why we decided to start our practice with Dark Type energy was because Axew was already able to finish Normal Type Conversion in a bit more than a second while moving, and we wanted to get his only Dark move up to this standard.
These 2 training methods took up our mornings and some of our afternoons, leaving me the rest of the day to finish the work assigned by the trainer course.
The final type of training Evan gave us was closer to maintenance than training. Every night after I finish my trainer course work I had to give Axews tusks a rub with a special sandpaper to wear them down and promote growth. Then, once a week I had to snap the tusks off so that they could rapidly regrow within 2 days. According to Evan, Axew were known for their ability to regrow their tusks, with the new tusks being tougher and stronger than the previous ones. He said this was needed because in their later evolutions they can’t regrow their tusks, so they need to be as tough as possible to prevent their tusks being permanently broken.
At the end of every week, Evan would give both of us an evaluation based on how well we did on our training for that week and offer tips for how to train more efficiently. It was at one of these evaluations where I asked if he could give me a specialised food prescription for Axew, to which he was happy to oblige. I still had trouble figuring out what he was saying half the time though.
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Today was a rare occasion, as Evan had given us the day off from training. He wanted us to do things together other than train so that we could build our bond with each other. I wasn’t really sure what to do since I had noting planned, so I decided to give Yancy a call to see if she was free and in the city.
Unfortunately, she said that she was currently working in Nimbasa City and wouldn’t be back for awhile. We did end up chatting for a bit and I let Axew say hello to Spinda before we said goodbye.
Out of ideas, I asked Axew if he had any suggestions on what to do today. A quick game of charades told me that he wanted to go to the park and have a battle. I wasn’t sure if we were legally allowed to do this, what with me not having completed the trainer course and dragon training program, so I went and asked Evan.
His response was “Weel it shuid be braw sae lang as ah supervise ye. Fights lik' this aren't official League matches sae th' regulations ur a bawherr laxer.”
(Translation: Well it should be fine so long as I supervise you. Fights like this aren't official league matches so the regulations are a bit laxer.)
With my worries settled, I waited for Evan to grab his stuff before we went to the park. Once we arrived there, Evan showed me that there was a designated battle zone where low-level trainers can challenge each other or wild Pokemon who enter as well. When we entered the zone, I started to look for someone to challenge. It wasn’t too busy today, but I managed to find a middle-aged man sitting on a bench with his Taillow. Since he was the only person here right now, I went to challenge him.
“Excuse me, are you free to battle?” I said after me and Axew had approached him.
His Taillow seemed to perk up when it saw Axew, while he straightened his back after hearing me.
“Me? Sure thing kid. Taillow has been itching for a fight all week, and I’ve been to busy to find someone to battle with. Wanna do this here or in a field?” He said, looking relieved that someone had come to challenge him.
“We can do this in a field.”
“Right, lets go then.”
With that, he sat up, while his Taillow flew up to his shoulder and perched there. Speaking of, his Taillow looked familiar and Axew seemed to know it. Maybe it was the one he played with last time we were here?
Pondering this, I followed the man to a dirt field that had the standard battle field pattern painted on it. We each stood in the trainer boxes on both sides of the field while Evan went to the referee’s position to act as our ref.
Sending Axew to the starting position, we both got ready as Evan counted us down.
“Three, twa, yin, battle begin!” He roared, signalling the start by slicing his hand down.
(Translation: Three, two, one, battle begin!)
“Axew, move in for a Scratch!”
“Taillow, setup with Focus Energy!”
We both yelled our commands the second the battle started.
Axew ran forwards, its small claws glowing white, while Taillow sat still, a white aura covering its body. It finished setting up its Focus Energy before Axew got close enough to attack, letting it dodge the first Scratch.
“Now, Quick Attack while it’s open!” The man told his Taillow.
It quickly used the remnant Normal energy from Focus Energy to enhance its body, flying at Axew with twice its regular speed.
Expecting this, I retaliated by saying “Axew, Leer!”
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Axew mixed some Normal energy into its eyes, turning them a glowing red, and glared at Taillow. Taillow wasn’t expecting this, and seemed to try and slow down subconsciously, giving Axew enough room to dodge. He was nicked by Taillows wing though, and the aura created by Focus Energy enhanced the hit’s damage, sending him tumbling down the field. He quickly got up, and kept track of Taillow as it circled him in the air.
Taillow has the initiative because Axew can’t reach it. Instead, we have to wait for it to attack and then counter it, but its nearly impossible to do that since it can use Quick Attack and Axews moves are too slow.
“Taillow, Quick Attack again, but be careful of Leer!” the man commanded his Taillow, almost reading my mind.
“Axew, get a Bite ready!” I yelled, a small plan in my head.
The Taillow swooped in, getting ready to clip Axew, while Axew channeled the Dark energy into its fangs and tusks, making them glow a brilliant white.
“Now, use Bite and don’t let go!”
Axew, trusting my judgement, lunged forwards head-first, and bit down hard on the right wing that was supposed to clip it. Both Pokemon were carried by the force of the impact and rolled across the dirt. They had both taken damage from that exchange, but Taillow was worse off.
They both stood up immediately, but when Taillow tried to fly up again, it seemed to wince in pain. Axews bite had damaged its wing enough to keep it on the ground.
Axew didn’t miss this chance, and lunged forwards with a Scratch at my command.
“Taillow defend with Peck!” the man said as he tried to salvage the situation.
Taillows beak glowed a brilliant white similar to Axews claws, but with a bluish tint to it, as they both collided, attack hitting attack. This continued for 5 rounds, with both Pokemon managing to graze each other but not lad a solid hit, until Axew managed to read the next Peck and avoid it, scratching Taillows other wing.
Taillow let out a cry, but turned it into a Growl and caused Axews next Scratch to only lightly graze it as Axew recoiled instinctively from the savage cry.
They both separated, and put some space between each other. Axew looked pretty scuffed, with pecks and grazes covering it from the small bout and crash that had occurred. Taillow was worse for wear, covered in small scratches except for its right wing, where a massive bite mark was.
Both Pokemon seemed exhausted, and were panting heavily. The winner would probably be decided by the next move. However, just as I was about to give the final command, the man said “I forfeit the battle.”
Axew seemed a bit confused, while the Taillow sighed in relief. With that rather anti-climactic ending, we had won our first battle. Evan handed both of us Potions to give some basic first aid to our Pokemon until we got to a PokeCenter, which was rather nice of him. Saying goodbye to the man and his Taillow, we left the park and headed home, with Axew resting in his Pokeball.
Along the way I was wondering about why the man forfeited, since his Taillow had a good chance to out-speed Axew, and asked Evan about it.
“Th' wings wur awready crippled, sae that wid hae lagged him doon. It an' a' keeked lik' he wis running wee oan energy 'n' likelie wid hae ainlie managed yin lest shift afore it fainted.” he said after a short pause.
(Translation: The wings were already crippled, so that would have slowed him down. It also looked like he was running low on energy and probably would have only managed one last move before it fainted.)
“Ah mist say though, ye 'n' Axew did bonny weel fur yer foremaist battle. That wing-bite strategy wis risky though, 'n' cuid hae dane serious damage if Axew missed th' bite.”
(Translation: I must say though, you and Axew did pretty well for your first battle. That wing-bite strategy was risky though, and could have done serious damage if Axew missed the bite.)
Nodding my head, I continued walking with him while I thought of better strategies I could have told Axew to use so that he didn’t have to take such a risk. I was so deep in thought that I didn’t realise that we had reached the PokeCenter until Evan gave me a shake on the shoulder. I handed Axews Pokeball over to the nurse on duty (not the centres Nurse Joy, who was the head nurse) and was told to come back after half an hour.
I spent this time grabbing a treat from down the street for me and Axew as a reward for winning. Two Pecha berry pastries, which were one of me and Axews favourite treats, and a special oil to rub on Axews scales to keep them extra shiny, since Axew liked when I gave him rubs. Rewards gathered, I went back to the Pokecenter and picked Axew up from the reception. He was in perfect shape and didn’t seem like he had just had a battle at all, which made me marvel at this worlds medical technology. I took him back to our room before giving him the gifts, and he was ecstatic. We shared our pastries before I used some of the oil to give him a rub while we watched some shows on TV.
At one point we found an interview show where this idol called Nancy was in Nimbasa City interviewing people there. Currently she was interviewing the Gym Leader Elesa about her expectations for the Vertress Conference, which was due in less than a month. I tried focusing on the interview but couldn’t help but feel that Nancy looked familiar.
She was probably just in a show I saw before and forgot about.
We spent the rest of our evening resting like this before we grabbed dinner. Afterwards, I grabbed a spare notebook from my bag and began to write down different ways I can improve on Axews training so that we are better prepared for battles.
The most important thing I could think of was predetermined strategies for different situations. Today I was lucky that Axew understood what I meant when I said to prepare a Bite, but I might not be so lucky next time. To fix this me and Axew could come up with different ways to communicate non-verbally, like hand signals, or to disguise strategies in regular commands by using keywords. The probably couldn’t be to complex though.
The next thing we should improve on is using more than one move at once. If Axew had been able to use Leer when he bit Taillow then he would have taken less damage from Taillows Quick Attack. My course and Evan had said that this was possible, but was like trying to pat your head and rub your stomach, so it would be awhile before Axew could use this.
The final thing I could think of was to improve Axews reaction speed so that he could better counter close ranged attacks like Peck.
Once I had written my thoughts down in my notebook I closed it and got ready for bed.
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Today was Move training day, and Axew and I were practising using two moves at once. I had talked to Evan abut my ideas after breakfast and he seemed happy that I was coming up with my own training ideas. He even helped me come up with some basic hidden commands and signals that were easy to remember. After that, he had Haxorus demonstrate simultaneous Move use before leaving me and Axew to try and figure it out.
To keep it simple at the start Axew was trying to use Leer and Scratch together, since they both used Normal energy. This made it easier since Axew didn’t have to convert energy into two different types, but splitting the Normal energy into the two Moves was proving difficult. So far, Axews best attempt had been a weakened version of Leer with several glowing claws that took several seconds of standing still before they were ready. They were unstable though, and vanished after a few seconds. Still, it seemed to help Axew get the feeling for it, and after 12 more tries he managed to do it again but stabilised the Moves so they didn’t vanish.
Since it was still taking Axew a long time to convert the energy for simultaneous Moves we decided to work on that after a short lunch break. By the end of the day, Axew had managed to cut it down from 12 seconds of standing still to 6 seconds, although the amount of time he cut off seemed to lessen every time. I decided to call it there, and we went back to the PokeCenter to tell Evan about our progress.
After hearing about our progress he seemed pleased that we had trained well without him there. He told me that if we kept this pace up we should be able to pass the Dragon training test next week, which I had almost forgotten about. Axew and I had our dinner and wished Evan goodnight before we went to our room. Tonight was tusk snapping night, and we would have to avoid using Bite for the next two days until they grew back. Another thing about the tusks that Evan had told me was that you could grind them up and mix them with Axews food to give him more materials to grow new tusks. It was a bit weird, but Axew seemed to enjoy eating his tusk powder berry mix, so I just went with it.
Once I had snapped the tusks with a special tool I put them in my bag before I did my coursework. Axew went to bed early since his mouth feels a bit sensitive after the snaps, so I was left to do the work by myself. I finished my work after an hour and a half, but I still had half an hour left on my computer reservation. I thought about what to do until I remembered something rather important from the games.
Opening the web browser PoryGo I typed in two words.
Team Plasma.
The search came back with several news articles about how Team Plasma attacked the Unova League several years ago before a young trainer intervened with the Legendary Pokemon Zekrom. He and the false king N battled each other, with him emerging victorious. After that, most of the high level members of the organisation were arrested by the International Police, with the Sages and Ghetsis included. The only ones I couldn’t see on the arrest list were the Shadow Triad, who had evaded capture to this day.
Looks like Team Neo Plasma didn’t happen in this world. Guess that means I won’t have to worry about Opelucid City being frozen by Kyurem.
I also did several other searches for topics like Mega Evolution, Z-moves and Dynamaxing, with mixed results. While the public knew about them, they were still considered a rare phenomenon, apart from Dynamaxing since it was used in all Gym battle in Galar. I wanted to dig into the rabbit holes deeper, but my time on the computer was up.
With many questions left unanswered, I promptly forgot about them and returned to my room.