Instead of heading to the school like usual, Lilith headed to the fields behind the Gym alone. All the students were told to bring their Pokemon for their first class on the practicalities of battle. Absol’s Egg still hadn’t hatched despite all the noises waking her up at night.
Lilith found the correct place by following the crowd. They all walked the gravel path together, flanked by fields of green. Everyone gathered into a giant mob of people.
Cheren and the others stood on a small platform that stood a couple meters off the ground that let them overlook the students. The teachers all waited for everyone to arrive. Shirley stood with her colleagues as a Sawsbuck lay at her feet. Her partner Pokemon was the very model of a deer. Her head sprouted two horns entangled in pink daisies while brown tufts of fur puffed up her chest.
Lilith looked around in envy. Everyone she saw had a Pokemon. The standard Starters of the Region were scattered all over. Oshawott, Tepig, and Snivy could be counted by the dozens. Like Sam and Levy, some people had Starters not given to them by the League. Alder hadn’t even bothered to offer one to her, due to the Egg in her possession.
Off to one side, many Pokemon that Lilith recognized had gathered together. Their Pink doughy bodies stuck out like a sore thumb. Many Audino huddled together and talked amongst themselves. They giggled like schoolgirls as they found something particularly amusing.
Lilith turned her attention to the other students as two more joined the rather large group of people and Pokemon. Sam and Levy walked towards her. They too inspected the Pokemon of the people around until their eyes met. Sam waved at Lilith and decided to join her.
“Where’s your Pokemon?” Levy asked slightly agitated.
Her question was reasonable, but her tone rubbed her the wrong way. It was like she was insulting her for not having a Pokemon of her own present. Lilith would never admit it, but the dig hurt.
“It's obviously that Egg that she was carrying around the first time we met.” Sam said.
He punched her in the arm for her unfriendly attitude. Sam had been trying to get her to be more friendly to the people around her but it was obviously not going well.
“Attention! Your attention please!” A voice shouted, distracting them from more conflict.
The crowd quieted down as Cheren called out to the students.
“We are about to begin our first day of practical battle experience! We have many safety measures in place, but as you know this is a training exercise. Any violations could be met with expulsion from the program, so I want everyone to be on their best behavior! I will be around, but your teachers are in charge. Dismissed.” Cheren spoke into something Lilith could only identify as a megaphone.
Class number 7 grouped around Madam Shirley.
“Gather round please!” Their teacher called.
Shirley obviously knew where she was going as she walked backwards while yelling at her kids to stay together. They walked a short ways as other groups branched off and settled down on adjacent fields.
“Over here!” Madam Shirley called out as she veered off into the grass. They had arrived at their destination.
Everyone spread out as Shirley layed out the schedule.
“So we are going to be going over some basic ways to train your Pokemon, the first few segments should not have anyone targeting anyone else for an attack. Safety is our number one priority, if there ever is an emergency, please call Audino. She has been assigned to our class so please show your respect.”
Lilith stood off to the side and watched as everyone else started their exercises.
“Everyone will pick their Pokemon’s most basic attack move. We will all space out and perform 10 reps before stopping and evaluating if your Pokemon can continue. Power Points are important! Everyone remembers that they’re the amount of times a Pokemon can use a move before waiting to refill their energy. Training is as much about pushing them to be the best they can, as listening to them when they know a break is needed. This is a fine line between the two and can take some time to find the sweet spot for each individual Pokemon.” She said.
She would first demonstrate with Sawsbuck the correct method to emulate. Her back legs kicked out behind her as she demonstrated a Double Kick.
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Lilith wrote down everything Madam Shirley said and did. Despite the Egg not having hatched yet, she was going to be the utmost prepared. It did sting to watch her peers improve without her so she found different ways to occupy her time.
“Now we are going to use the same move, but think of a small variation to try. This can be as simple as taking a step forward while using their move. The whole point is to build up more experience using our moves and increase our Power Points over time.”
The amount of times a move could be used at first was low. Pokemon had to train the move to be able to use it more often, as well as increase its potency. Sawsbuck repeated the Double Kick, but instead kicked once and then shifted her weight to change the second kick's trajectory to the left slightly.
Lilith noted that she had done the exact same thing with Pansage. She had analyzed the most versatile moves and then tested out the best ways to utilize them. Time went by as she watched a Sewaddle pant in exhaustion. She was one of the few Pokemon not given out by the League. Axew and Darumaka were included along with Venipede, Timburr, Lillipup and Sunkern.
Lilith counted and found that there were 3 Oshawott, 5 Tepig, and 4 Snivy in the rest of the class. Despite reading about the starters being hard to breed, the League had to have pumped out about 150 for this class year alone. If they did that every year then they must not have been as special as she initially thought.
Shirley walked up to Lilith.
“Honey, I hope your Pokemon hatches soon, because you need a Pokemon by the end of these classes. If not then you will have to wait until next year to register as a League Sponsored Trainer.” She said.
Shirley had obviously been made aware of her Egg. It wasn’t that they could stop her becoming a Trainer, but being sponsored by the League was too good to pass up as the window to join only happened once a year. There were only upsides and no drawbacks, the ideal situation.
“I know.” Lilith smiled and reassured her. She knew the Egg would hatch before then. It was only a matter of days. She could feel it.
With that, Shirely moved on and started giving advice to the other students and Pokemon. She visited each student and didn’t move on until they had demonstrated a certain level of understanding. No one in the class was left alone. Once Shirley finished her rounds, the training was over. It was time for battles. The class gathered around for her final message.
“We will now group up into pairs. One person will be against Sawsbuck as we have an odd number! We will battle to see our progress and what needs improving. Don't be discouraged, battles at this level are always straightforward. Types play a large role in victory, but the more versatile moves your team acquires and the stronger they become, the less that matters. The goal isn’t to win, but to gain experience!” She said.
“Pokemon give off a slight amount of energy that they can’t harvest from their surroundings naturally. When a Pokemon is defeated, they release that energy into the air, allowing the victor to increase their own energy faster than usual. These battles are very important, so give it your all!.”
“Some standard rules. It's bad form to completely deplete the opponent's membrane, and also very dangerous. Instead, I will be watching you all and tell each team to stop their battle once I am satisfied. We will not be harvesting said energy in any of these battles. Do I make myself clear? As Cheren said before, if you can't follow this simple order then you are unfit to be a Pokemon Trainer.”
As she spoke, Lilith grew more skeptical. How was she going to monitor all their battles and make sure no one got hurt? Despite being a camp for fighting, the staff was being rather conservative. Her prior experience, while shielded from most harm, taught her that you almost never were in a position to ask your attacker to stop politely. Practice as you play seemed like an idea they should explore.
Regardless of her misgivings, Lilith settled down and watched the battle she knew would be the most interesting. Levy and Sam had teamed up. Darumaka and Axew faced off against each other. Levy stared intently at Sam who looked like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Begin!”
When Shirley made the shout to start, the two were on top of eachother. Lilith noted that this probably wasn’t their first battle. The way they moved against each other was telling. Axew could read his opponent as he closed the distance
Darumaka sent forth a long ranged Ember down the field accompanying his charge. The flame was small, and Darumaka’s control over her moves was obviously much lower than the other Pokemon Lilith had seen before. Axew easily dodged the blob as he charged his opponent. A simple sidestep was all it took. The trajectory was rather straightforward.
“Ah darn, still can’t get that Ember down!” Sam cried.
Axew initiated the first clash as he got close. Lilith watched as the unexpected happened. Tackle connected with his small body as Axew stood firm despite looking like he would have gotten the first attack off. Understanding dawned on her as Axew turned the momentum around. His own attack had become twice as strong when Assurance took effect. If the user was hit right before, the move allowed them to take a part of the last attack and launch it back towards the original user. The move was a perfect counter to physical attacks.
“Yes!” Levy cheered.
Her plan had worked. The new move the two had been working on allowed more fluctuation in his battle style. Now Darumaka would have to be much more careful with her attacks, lest they come straight back at her. She and Axew controlled the flow of battle. The victory was all but theirs.
“What was that move?!” Sam cried out.
Darumaka was forced onto the defensive as Axew’s teeth grew and used Bite. Her energy was running low, along with the lingering damage from the last attack. Darumaka attempted a Bite of her own as a last-ditch effort. Each Pokemon dodged and went for something non-vital, an arm. Both sets of teeth clamped down on the other one after the other.
“Levy, Sam, Done!” Shirley called the battle along with some of the others. Lilith turned to the other battles wrapping up. It had been a quick exchange, but she analyzed all that had gone right and wrong for both parties. Axew had the Type advantage as well as the better moveset. She hadn’t seen all of Darumaka’s moves, but a Status move would not have done much to change the outcome. Sam having no understanding of how Assurance worked led to his downfall.
If in his position, she would have to predict the Assurance and use one of the Status lowering moves like Growl or Leer to weaken the opponent and not allow the doubling of damage. The hit would have to be tanked and then launch a counter right after Assurance connected.
Most of the other battles were just as short. If an Oshawott found itself up against a Snivy, then a barrage of Vine Whips and it was all over. Lilith wondered what Star level Darumaka and Axew were at. They both were amongst the strongest in the class, and their battle had definitely been the most interesting.
“Everyone please get in line to be healed by Audino!” Shirley called out to the class.
All the battles had wrapped up. Everyone got in line as a dedicated Audino healed all the Pokemon with Heal Pulse. Each class was assigned one to minimize injuries. Lilith watched their Health membranes repair themselves in wonder. Despite their strength, they were no match for the Audino that healed her in the forest.
“Alright, now go and pick a different person to battle!” Madame Shirley said.
The rest of the afternoon consisted of Lilith watching and analyzing as many fights as she could. She tried to find the battles that lasted the longest and had the most to teach her.