May also knew that she didn't need to answer the question , how could she not when the answer popped into her head immediately as it would any sane person. Yes , the answer was almost always going to be yes. There was nothing wrong with that at all , it is part of ones base instincts to try and preserve their existence and avoid suffering. I ended the lesson there for the day as there was simply no way she could focus with such a heavy idea on her mind. For a kind person like her it was difficult to accept but necessary to move forward.-

I wasn't bothered by May or Birch the next day as for May she was still struggling to come to terms with her previous lesson while for Birch it was because he was aware of this. He obviously understood the logic in what I had taught her but the conflicted look he gave me showed his own inner conflict with her learning this. It is honestly amazing what a parent will accept if they think it's for their childs betterment. Still that left me with the whole day free and I was more than happy to use it to my advantage.-

I of course did my daily exercises but on top of those I also practiced my spearmanship with my makeshift spear. I didn't move past the basics however as I wanted to set a strong foundation for my future techniques. Yes spears did indeed have techniques involved with them though they were admittedly just slightly modified versions of the basic movements. Things like angling the spearhead slightly while thrusting to strike tiny joints easier or using the pummel for attacking. That was for the future though as for now I was focusing on getting familiar with the weapon.-

May apparently settled her mind sometime during that day as she approached me after my workout to learn how to fight in earnest. I chose a spot next to the pond for us and began to spar with her. She was allowed to strike me as hard as she could but I made sure that I slowed my own hits to not be painful or cause injuries. With how sturdy my body was nothing she did had any effect at all save the surface level redness that quickly faded away.-

She was sloppy and hesitant with each of her strikes at first but after I sent her to the dirt every time she did she quickly got rid of it. The sloppiness was slow going for her to get rid of but I was helpful in pointing out her mistakes based on my own knowledge. She showed decent amounts of improvement by the evening when the first truck showed up in the village. It was a repair truck sent to fix and renovate the old abandoned house that Normans family was moving into. There was a rather funny moment when I got sized up by the company mans Machoke-

Machoke were the second evolution of the Machop species that minus the skin color , arms and head all looked almost the same as a muscular human man. They had round reptilian heads with grey three lined fins and sharp teeth. Their skin was a bluish purple color that covered their whole bodies. On their arms they had several thin red stripes in their skin. This wasn't for show but because of a unique fact about their anatomy. Those stripes were actually elastic portions of skin that they had because their muscles when fully exerted caused their skin to stretch and expand.-

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Without these stripes their skin itself would tear whenever they went all out from the unrestrained power of their muscles. The reason this particular Machoke sized me up was that it found my strength and physique impressive and wanted to compete. The company man could only watch on with an exasperated look as both I and the pokemon flexed to show off to the other. I was honestly far too happy to compete with the thing in hindsight but pride is a funny thing like that. I won out in the competition though as my muscles were far more developed than it's were and thus looked more impressive.-

That was when I learned an interesting habit that the species had in that they mimicked the apparel of the person who beat them in one of these competitions. The Machoke went into the house with an extra pair of my shorts that I generously gifted it after learning this and came out wearing them and gave me a thumbs up and a wide smile. Birch was thrilled with the knowledge though as it had obviously been a very rare occasion when a human won out in terms of physique with a Machoke and thus hadn't been officially documented till now.-

This wasn't to say that I was stronger than the pokemon , merely that my muscles were better developed and looked nicer. The company man apologized for me having to give up a pair of my shorts to his pokemon and offered to buy me an extra but I just waived it off. I enjoyed myself so I didn't mind the small loss on my part. It was interesting to see how fast the man and his pokemon finished fixing and renovating the old house.-

The truck they showed up in had all the extra materials they might have needed as well as the appliances intrinsic to the house like the oven and refrigerator. They replaced any damaged or decayed pieces of the walls , rewired the whole house for the most modern electrical model and checked the water lines and septic situation all in under four hours. I found it crazy how efficient the company was at this job that might take purely humans a whole day or two normally. Still I gave the Machoke a wide grin and a pose when they packed up and left after they finished up.-

I wasn't even a little sorry for it at all as it was just too fun to see the enthusiasm the mon had when they left. I am pretty sure the thing was going to copy that pose whenever it could and cause it's owner a headache. I suppose it should also be mentioned that May received her starter at the end of this day since it was deemed healthy by Birch finally. It was apparently league regulation that any pokemon caught in the wild to be given out by a professional must undergo a sort of purification process that cleans out any hidden diseases or parasites keeping the rookie trainer safe.-

I was obviously exempt from any deep checks since if my pokemon had anything like that I would have already caught it but since I hadn't there was no issue after a small check up. Still the process took a few days so May hadn't received the runt Treecko till now. Birch looked away in embarrassment after I pointed out the clear bias in his handing out that mon to his daughter. He seemed happy with his decision though so I didn't bring it up again.