Tepig had just learned Flame Charge so the odds were he was close to evolving. The starter's information was much easier to remember considering how often she used them. That didn’t matter much considering the Pokemon was right before her. His older moves included Defence Curl, Tackle, Tail Whip, and Ember. They went through each one figuring out their thinking and limitations.
Lilith learned a lot in the short time they were together. She found his battle style to be rather straightforward. Tepig’s high attack and natural bulk only helped considering his headstrong personality. He had been rewarded with going into battles blindly and trying to dish out the most damage.
With enough info, she could move onto Roselia. She served more as a defensive Pokemon where Leech Seed, Stun Spore, Mega Drain, and Growth all helped to slow down her battles. She was also the one who needed the most work considering her recent addition to the team. She needed time to adapt to a different stronger way to battle than her nature usually told.
Her stats focused on a more drawn out match, but if the opponent could dish out damage then she would be in trouble. Tepig’s Flame Charge would put her into a critical condition almost instantly. It was the most likely way she had been caught. Any other foe on equal footing would find a much different beast.
With the full scope of their abilities charted Lilith had the two face off without being able to use their basic strategies. Tepig couldn’t use any fire type attacks so the battle would be more drawn out, while Roselia was only allowed Mega Drain and Growth. The goal was to try and see how well they adapted.
“Begin!” Lilith called out.
Tepig started out fast and charged forward. He attempted to Tackle Roselia as she started draining Tepig’s energy. Both attacks connected one after another. No thought was put into their approach or surroundings.
“Stop, stop, stop!” Lilith called out.
She recognized Wendell’s major flaw immediately.
“Status Moves!” She shouted.
Wendell frowned as she continued.
“Tepig! You have Leer, which lowers defenses. If your opponent is a physical attacker, then you can use Defense curl. If you trade damage for a little setup in a drawn out battle, that increase will almost always win the battle!” She explained before turning to her next victim.
“And you, Roselia. You just met Wendell, so don’t fall into his trap. Your best assets are Status moves ao you should be using at least two in conjunction with your setup. Both Paralysis and the sap from Leech Seed are huge. When your opponent is too Paralysed to move is the perfect time for a free setup move like growth!” She huffed, catching her breath.
“Alright, let's try again!” Lilith shouted.
The duo continued to clash as Wendell spoke with her. They discussed strategies against certain targets. If they knew a Pokemon was usually an all out attacker, then Roselia was the better option. She could control the battle with her versatile moveset. Tepig on the other hand was perfect against speedy or defensive Pokemon who had trouble dealing out damage. One Pokemon couldn’t do everything so it was much better to lean into their strengths.
They went over Leer and Growth as they restarted the match. Roselia practiced her movement while Tepig looked for openings to fit in status moves.
A curtain rose from Wendell's eyes as he watched the match. He could see what she was talking about, how they could shift under different circumstances. The school never actually taught them to battle, just the tools, so he was in an awkward spot.
With his biggest flaw out of the way, they transitioned into battling to grow in strength. Wendell would have to continue his work at a later time considering how much he had ahead of him. They practiced Flame Charge to help increase Tepig’s speed, while Roselia got used to the size changes from Growth. One move was underused, while the other was used too often. They tweaked small things while continuing their discussion.
“It's all about the transition from one move to another!” Lilith lectured.
Tepig and Roselia fought on as Absol watched from afar. Their training wasn’t so different from what she normally went through with Absol.
“You can’t rely on one trick to get you through each battle. If you come across a Pokemon who counter’s your strategy then you can’t just give up! They won’t give you that option.” She said.
The next scenario was dodge training. Tepig was unable to attack while he tried fitting in Defense Curls while moving. Wendell had complained that Roselia was a special attacker, so it really didn’t matter. She then lectured him about not knowing your opponent and being ready for anything.
Roselia tossed her Leech Seeds at her friend as he tried dodging. They both tried their hardest at maneuvering differently. Roselia practiced her Seeds trajectory while Tepig could now move side to side.
The small pig got much better as he figured out lateral movement. It was a short jump, but sometimes that space created could make or break an encounter. Roselia’s hands came together as more seeds were created. Multiple couldn’t be thrown or activated at a time, but it was still good practice. She pulled back before using the forward momentum to push the seed through the air.
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
Tepig hopped to the side just before it could hit. He didn’t wait around for the next one, already knowing it was coming. He charged forwards as another seed found the ground where he once stood. He charged towards a tree on the outer ring, trying to gather some reprieve from the cover it proved.
His small body smacked into the trunk, his opponent not considering his resolve. The seed landed to the wayside just as the air shifted. Absol perked her ears up as a bright light filled the alcove. Wendell watched in awe as his Partner’s body morphed into strange shapes. One second he was a blob, the next something recognizable. The energy surrounding them thrummed, signaling his transition.
The energy had turned into light, blinding all that laid eyes upon the transformation. It was odd because she could look meters to Tepig’s left or right without any difficulty. Once she tried laying her eyes upon the transition, however, it became incredibly hard to observe.
His body stopped quaking as a definite outline began to form. The light receded until the form was revealed. Tepig had evolved.
“Ha ha ha!” Wendell shouted with joy.
He ran to his partner's side as they danced around in celebration. They held hands and spun in circles like children as Roselia watched on from the side. She understood the bond they had, but it didn’t detract from the milestone that had been achieved. She too had been through the shift, understanding their circumstances.
Lilith on the other hand was much more clinical. She tried jotting down all the markers that had been observed for future reference. Tepig had evolved not due to a full on fight, but a change in approach. His energy hadn’t increased at all from when they had started. It was more like he had the option, and all the underlying conditions had been met. What those were, she had no idea.
She furiously scribbled down on her Castor while thinking back to the Trainer school. Shirley had been incredibly vague, saying to never force the issue and let it come naturally. If a Pokemon wasn’t ready, then the consequences could be disastrous. The only tidbit of knowledge that was divulged was the change that happened to their natural body being unable to hold any more energy, forcing the body to undergo an evolution to better adapt to their sudden increase of power.
“Congratulations!” Lilith said, finishing her notes.
She patted him on the shoulder and joined the triumph once he had calmed down.
“AHHH!” Wendell let out a scream.
He turned toward Lilith and attempted to give her a large hug. Absol snickered she watched her Partner turn tail and flee, being chased around in terror.
“We need to practice more!” Lilith shouted as she was chased around.
“Come on! Just one hug to say thanks.” He whined.
Wendell ran around before he couldn’t physically continue. He sat on the ground while huffing air, trying to recover.
“We need to go out into the wild.” Lilith decided.
Wendell took some convincing, but he eventually acquiesced to her demands. They needed a more diverse opponent considering their only sparring partner was themselves. He was excited as she was to see the increase in power that would happen with an evolution.
“We need Pignite to get used to his new found power, while Roselia could have a general increase across the board.” Lilith analyzed. “Let’s see what they can do against wild Pokemon.”
Roselia was a one star Pokemon, but was only in the lower stages, while Pignite’s evolution vaulted him into the upper stage. The power difference between the two was large, and with the type matchup, there was no reason for Roselia to continue their spars, let alone beat him.
Lilith and Absol trailed behind the trio as everyone stayed alert. If either hadn’t been injured, she would have gladly taken up the challenge in facing him. Unfortunately, they would be on the sidelines for some time, heeding the words of Jenaya. Her gamble on taking him under her wing was starting to pay off. Getting up close to an evolution was well worth the time tutoring Wendell.
“Over there!” He shouted.
Two Patrat had stuck their heads out of a pile of leaves, fleeing once they had been spotted. Wendell and Pignite charged forward with smiles while Roselia lingered at the back. The duo chased the Pokemon until they disappeared from view. Their tiny bodies were too hard to track as they ultimately got away.
“Do you have any idea what patience is?” Lilith sighed.
The more she got to know Wendell, the more she decided that she didn’t like his personality considering he was rather straightforward and simple. There were no layers of complexity to discover. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, seeing as Wendell was a good person. She acknowledged his noble spirit mixed with his naivete.
“You have to move with caution, and once you find a Pokemon who can stand up to Pignite, that’s when you battle.” Lilith lectured her lost lamb.
“That’s what we did!” Wendell argued.
“No, you attacked the first thing that moved. You should have passed them in peace because of how weak they were. Those Patrat would have been a waste of time.” She huffed.
Lilith then spent the rest of the evening trying to teach him how to move in a forest. None of her big secrets were divulged, but more common sense. Don’t step on anything but the ground, no going through leaves, using trees as cover while scouting the area, etc. Wendell walked through the area without a care in the world.
Eventually they traveled far enough from Floccesy to start encountering one star Pokemon. It didn’t matter how stealthy they were as Pokemon now went out of their way to challenge the group. Sunkern and Pidove settled up for the night as they huddled in their nests. Lillipup lay out in the open making the best target.
Pignite challenged all the bundles of fur they could find. He would charge forward as his opponent was all too ready to receive him. They dueled it out before taking down each dog, having Potions at the ready to keep his shields full during the duration of their training.
At first, he was only allowed to use starting moves like Defense Curl and Tackle. Only once he had re familiarized himself was he able to work his way up in the order of moves that had been learned. It was the strategy taught them by the school on how to best acclimate after an evolution. Tail Whip and Ember were next, until finally Pignite could move forward with Flame Charge.
“Did you see that?!” Wendell shouted in excitement.
Pignite had decimated the last Lillipup with his Flame Charge. His species was rather slow, but with the boost from his evolution, he was able to activate his moves before all the pups, not even considering the circles he ran around them. His first attack was almost always devastating with little room for them to recover. A simple Tackle would finish them off after they tried to stay strong. Wendell’s confidence grew tremendously over a short period of time.
‘Maybe we have a shot at this…’