"Wow! I never expected a Beedrill to be able to last so long against a Kadabra. They're fierce and dangerous for newbies, but to get an Abra to evolve you need serious training skills," a female trainer commented about the ongoing battle.
"Yeah, no kidding. Not to mention, their Psychic attacks are an absolute menace to Poison-types and Kadabra tend to be faster than most because of their teleportation," the person next to her replied.
As I got closer to the crowd, I heard similar comments praising both Kadabra and Beedrill, which were currently in a heated exchange of attacks. Kadabra would teleport to one side of the makeshift arena to send Psychic blasts out before being pelted by Pin Missiles, with the Beedrill using Agility to dodge the Psychic attack. Whenever Beedrill was close enough, it would assault Kadabra with Poison Jabs and Fell Stingers, to which Kadabra would intercept with Shadow Balls and Psyshocks. It was a back-and-forth exchange that showcased the ability of both trainers and Pokémon.
It soon became obvious that Beedrill would lose. While Beedrill had great instincts and reflexes, it had no time to heal with whatever healing move it had, if it indeed had one. Kadabra, on the other hand, could Recover while teleporting, which it gladly did to make sure its body could still move easily. While both Pokémon were now running on fumes, Kadabra had the visible advantage. Soon enough, Beedrill faltered in its attack, giving Kadabra just enough leeway to use Future Sight (which could be seen by the Psychic energy floating out into the atmosphere) and continue defending. Without warning, the attack landed several seconds later, knocking Beedrill out.
Once it ended, Kadabra's trainer shouted out in joy, running to Kadabra and giving it a hug. Kadabra returned the sentiment with a glow of its eyes and a grin. Beedrill's trainer congratulated both of them before returning his Pokémon, giving it a few silent words before clipping the ball to his belt. After that, they cleared the arena. An announcement was made for new challengers, informing those that wanted to battle that only trainers who had less than two months of time with their Pokémon could sign up for battles. I immediately walked up, deciding to take this opportunity to learn. I had no problem rocking someone's, or a Pokémon's, shit myself. My Pokémon battle-style still needed fine-tuning.
I walked over to sign up, several people looking at me. Admittedly, it would be strange for most of the trainers here, who were all younger than 16, to see a large adult with a nicely grown goatee signing up as a trainer who has had his Pokémon for less than most. The stares began to unnerve me. They'd been looking at me for the last two minutes or so. And then, one of them walked up to me.
"You're that dude that trashed that Unovan asshole, right?" the young trainer asked. He couldn't have been older than 13 years old.
"Uh, will I still be able to take part in the battles if I say yes?"
A wide grin spread over his face. "Dude, that was so cool! You went viral for the way you handled him!"
"Oh, well shit. Didn't know I blew up. Can I see the video?"
The lad pulled out his phone, which looked eerily similar to the iPhones back home.
Guess the corporate world is the same no matter which world you are in.
After pulling up a video on PokéTube, huh, I saw a video of me and Dash insulting each other. The video was recorded by someone from the restaurant given the angle and audio. From the video, I was seen in a casual pose as I kept antagonizing him until he threw a punch. Then, I threw him to the other side of the street. From the video's perspective, it was like I used Mega Punch. It reminded me of the videos I used to watch of people getting their asses whooped after insulting strangers or starting fights. It was absolutely one-sided. The other trainers began to talk in much more excited, but hushed, voices. A few asked about what happened and why I kept myself involved. Most asked about how I was able to push him the way I did, asking for training tips and if there was a Pokémon I used to help with that.
I had apparently gained a mini cult from how willing I was to mess with Dash, an arrogant, rich 'young master.' After talking to a few of the trainers, the battles started. Since all of the participating trainers had just started, the battles weren't very exciting. I went up against a kid with a Rattata, having Ferroseed use Gravity to basically crush it into unconsciousness. After a few more battles that went the same way, I asked one of the trainers that battled earlier if I could have a go against him. He agreed after I explained my momentary freeze against the Litleo.
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Since Ferroseed had seen a lot of action, I decided to use Inkay for this battle. I released her at the same time my opponent released his Pokémon. Inkay was up against an excited Helioptile. The little yellow reptile preened in the sun spot it was released in. I couldn't check it's stats because that was against the rules for these battles. Apparently it was the same in any official League battle. Inkay looked at Helioptile with anticipation, excited for his first real battle.
Once the signal was given, Helioptile began to use Charge.
"Inkay, store up Hypnosis and wait till they get close."
It took Inkay 2 seconds to charge up Hypnosis, much fast than the 6 seconds it took Helioptile to use Charge.
"Elio, use Thunder Shock then move in with Quick Attack!"
Helioptile let loose an abnormally strong Thunder Shock thanks to Charge, momentarily blinding Inkay. I guess he hoped Inkay wouldn't be able to aim Hypnosis if he was blinded. Helioptile charged up to Inkay, Quick Attack giving a huge boost to its speed. I waited for it to get closer before giving my next command.
"Alright Inkay, release Hypnosis in a ring… now!"
Inkay released the Hypnosis, his training paying off with the control he had over his Psychic energy. The pinkish ring of rippling energy rolled over Helioptile, slowing it down before he slumped down in front of Inkay with a snore. Inkay immediately rushed in with Peck, creating a crater under Helioptile as a sickening crunch was heard followed by a shrill shriek from Helioptile. Its trainer immediately rushed over, as did I, to check on the poor thing.
"What the hell is your problem?!" the teen lashed out at me, his eyes threatening to stab me. I didn't respond immediately, just staring down at the Helioptile who lay limp with a bloody, cracked head. I immediately grabbed a potion I had; something told me it wouldn't last long if nothing was done now. I sprayed the entire content of the potion on the cracked area, which visibly closed up.
Definite head trauma there, it's gonna need to see Nurse Joy immediately.
"Sorry about that, this was Inkay's first battle. Helioptile's head is closed up, but you need to go to Nurse Joy before any lasting brain damage occurs," I told him. "I'm really sorry by the way. I did not know how much Inkay's attacks could damage a Pokémon."
I stopped talking as he ran back towards the city. I genuinely felt bad, seeing as most battles don't end up with cracked skulls or twisted limbs, at least not from the videos I had seen on PokéTube. The other trainers were looking at me in fear, probably afraid that I was trying to kill their partners. I awkwardly put on my best "That was an accident, I swear I'm not a murderer" face and then walked away. I guess my time would now be better spent looking for Flabébé. I pulled up the Map app and searched for the Pokémon. The map said their territory was about a mile or two to the northeast. I trudged ahead, thinking about how to get Inkay to start holding back.
Since Ferroseed was now a fully grown Pokémon, I had started some mock battles in full. Inkay was able to damage Ferroseed with Peck and other moves, showing just how much damage he is able to dish out. While it hurt Ferroseed, she never suffered any grievous wounds or too much damage thanks to her Steel typing and body. If Inkay held back on Ferroseed, I wouldn't be able to tell if she was holding back enough or not. I guess I was going to have to test it out on wild Pokémon.
Soon enough, I entered the Fairy type's land. I could tell immediately by the huge number of blooming flowers. There were beds of red, blue, yellow, orange, and white flowers, with some areas of mixed colors. It was a beautiful sight. Instead of walking through, I sat just at the edge of the pasture of flowers waiting for the Pokémon to show themselves. After a minute or two, several Flabébé and Floette began floating by. They approached me very casually, a few dropping flowers at my legs with a graceful smile and a happy "Fla" and "Oet." I sat there, enjoying the company of the serene environment. After roughly 40 minutes, a Florges emerged from the distance. It gave me a knowing look, almost as if to say it was watching me for the slightest ill-meaning action.
"Hi Florges, can I ask you a few questions?"
"Flor?" it responded with a questioning look. It approached me slowly. Once it got close enough, I scanned Florges.
Florges (Female): The Garden Pokémon
A long-living Pokémon, Florges creates flower gardens in its territory. These flowers can power Florges over time, with petal blizzards strong enough to overwhelm the mightiest of Fire-types being the tell-tale sign of a Florges that has lived for hundreds of years.
Abilities: Flower Veil, Symbiosis, Super Luck
Moves: Fairy Wind, Tackle, Vine Whip, …, Moonblast, Solar Beam, Psychic, Camouflage (Egg Move), Heal Bell (Egg Move), Secret Power (Egg Move)
Condition: Wary, Curious, Alert
"Ges?"
"Yeah, um. So, I wanted to know if I could take a few of the Flabébé here to a Pokémon ranch," I started. "They will take great care of them, I promise. They want to raise Flabébé in order to help new trainers that don't want aggressive Pokémon or those that don't want to battle against others. Would you be willing to let a few Flabébé choose whether or not they want to go?"
Florges floated there for several moments. She looked at me, her eyes piercing right through me as if she were giving me a penance stare.
"Florges," she responded with a slight nod. She then turned around, calling out to the Flabébé that were mingling around the gardens. They floated over when they heard the call. After some back and forth between the group and Florges, seven floated up to me with excited gazes.
"So, these are the ones that are willing to go?"
I received a nod, so I caught them all. Two red-flowered males, a yellow-flowered male, a white-flowered male, two blue-flowered females, and an orange-flowered female. Fantastic.
"Thank you! I really appreciate this," I thanked the Florges. "If you'd like, I can plant a few berry trees for you. As payment for the generous help."
Florges shook her head, pointing at several berry trees on a hill to the west. Got it. As Florges began floating away, I began to think about the Helioptile and Inkay's currently uncontrolled strength.
"Umm, could I bother you for one more favor?"
"Florges?"
"You see, my Inkay is having some trouble controlling his strength," I told Florges as I recounted the battle that left Helioptile with the head wound. She looked surprised at the damage Inkay did, tensing a bit before I finished asking for her help.
"Do you mind helping Inkay and I in controlling our strength? I guess Ferroseed could also use the practice. I just don't want to hurt other Pokémon like that unnecessarily and you are much more powerful than any other I've met so far," I concluded. While I'm sure Calem's Meowstic could be considered the strongest I've interacted with seeing as it read my memories without me knowing, I didn't actually talk to it.
Florges seemed to be in deep thought at my request. After a minute or so, she once again nodded in agreement.
"Thank you so much!"