Everyone watched on in shock. When Lilith had been debating what moves to pick, she had never even considered if Absol could learn it. In the long run it didn’t really matter as she didn’t see her using the move all that often, but it was a nice addition. It was a great support move but didn’t fit into her moveset real well considering it hadn’t even been picked for her.
Absol needed to be a strong attacker who was fast enough to deal out damage. There would be occasions where supportive moves could be used, but not many. They would be out of the ordinary, so Lilith wondered if it was even worth practicing right now.
‘What to do…’ She froze.
Considering the almost impulsive purchase, the next step hadn’t even been considered.
‘What is the next step in training?’ She pondered. ‘Do we get used to Will-O-Wisp, or try out the new Eject Button? And then after that?’
The steps taken on her journey thus far were much smaller than initially thought. Her eyes were on the initial future, but didn’t consider the long game.
‘Levels?’ Another thought came to mind.
The next step could be to train up their levels, being the quickest way to increase their potency in the short term. The more nuanced training they had been doing thus far was core Pokemon on equal footing. If they went up against a strong two star, they would be wiped out easily even with ample preparation.
‘The gym will have Two upper one star Pokemon and finish off with one just about to break through to the second. Absol should be able to take anyone 1v1 in a neutral encounter, but can Sableye pick up the slack with the other two?’
Lilith glanced around the courtyard. No pokemon had approached them thus far because of how close to the entrance they were, but the temptation to delve deeper was strong.
“I think we should have Sableye battle some more,” She told the team. “The next Gym is a poison one with 3 Pokemon. They are about our strength, but with greater numbers. We only have 1 switch, so I’m thinking we start with Absol who finishes off the first entry, and then we pivot into you, Sableye, with our one switch. From there, you harass and cause as much damage before being hit with your Eject Button and have Absol finish off the second with ease. From there, it should just be a one vs one. Worse case scenario, Absol feints and Sableye can come in with Fake-Out and Will-O-Wisp pressure.”
Sableye turned his head to the side, Intrigued by the Item she had described.
“Sol!” Absol barked in affirmation.
She was sure her strength would hold. With that, everyone was convinced that the best preparation was to spend all their time getting his new Item down pat.
“Where did it go...” She mumbled to herself.
She dug her hand around, trying to find the Item’s box.
“Ahh! Here you go” she shouted in triumph.
Lilith pulled apart the packaging with haste. If the item couldn’t even withstand her assault, then there would be no hope of it holding in battle. Soon enough, it was in the hands of its new user.
Sableye shook the button up and down vigorously, trying to figure out its function while she tried to read through the instructions. The small metal box was cut from its top back corners to the front bottom ones, forming a square base with triangular sides. The bottom was connected to straps, where the item could be secured to the designated Pokemon while a large red circle sat in the middle of the incline, just begging to be pushed.
“So we just do this…”
Lilith pulled Sableye’s Pokeball from her belt and tapped the Item’s together. The connection between the three was secured, Pokemon attached to the Item attached to the Ball.
“Here, let me.” Lilith offered.
She strapped the button so it rested along his chest, and held him around the back. He jumped about, even shadow jumping to see how well it held to his body. All that was left to do was test it out.
“Ahh!” Lilith jumped in fright.
Once the contraption was fit snug to his chest, Sableye couldn’t help but try out his new toy. Once the big red button was touched, his Pokeball sucked him back inside. Under normal circumstances, a Pokemon could only resist the call to be pulled back, and not initiate the actual process to enter a Pokeball. That was what made the item so special. After being hit once, the energy from the attack would trigger the button, so as long as Sableye wasn’t knocked out in one hit, he would return to her.
“Can this be used even without getting hit?” She wondered.
That wasn’t how the original Item was used, but it seemed like a good idea to try out. If they got a free switch without taking damage, then the application could go much further than she ever imagined.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Absol blinked a few times, trying to figure out what happened. The whole situation was odd. Lilith pulled out her Pokeball and released Sableye once more. With his triumphant return, he jumped up and down.
“When you’re hit by someone, you can come right back to me. That way, you're always safe.” She patted him on the head.
The description caused him to look between her and the object on the floor. A warm feeling washed over him similar to the one the day prior. The idea sounded superb to him, it would fit his pacifist mentality quite well. He would be able to play all sorts of pranks with it. The new Item was perfect for him.
“Training time!” She declared.
With the initial shopping high gone, it was time to get to work. The Group packed up all their belongings and got ready for battle. Absol hung back more and let Sableye take the lead. They cautiously approached one of the doors before moving inside. No movement was seen or Pokemon around.
Sleeping Pokemon had been a problem in their journey thus far. Going out at night was much different than she originally thought. Her thoughts were more idealized than she cared to admit. It was better at dawn and dusk, but the dead of night held little opportunities.
Their footsteps echoed off the interior of the building they stood in. Compared to the silence of the night, they were awfully loud considering that they wanted to sneak up on anything they might come across.
“Tap. Tap. Tap.”
Sounds echoed through the large dome. Strange machinery stood in long rows, making their retreat paths wanting. They stuck to the outer rim to get a better handle on their location. Despite being shut down, there was virtually no dust. It was dirty, yes, but the presence of Pokemon was obvious.
A small glimmer caught the group's eye as they stepped cautiously. Out from under one of the stations rolled a strange object. It stood out because of its tan and blue color patterns, nothing like the immediate surroundings. The other giveaway was the weird movements. It had to be a Pokemon. Absol stood on guard as Sableye got ready to jump in. The unidentified species rolled along the isle, not noticing them until it was too late. Sableye appeared behind his prey and gave a hard smack to the Pokemon’s backside.
Lilith had no idea what Pokemon it could be. Its behavior didn’t match with anything she remembered. Its size was small, only being about the size of a football. The oddity jumped in fright. They couldn’t quite yet feel its star level as no outward expression of type energy was produced. The group held nothing back as they prepared for battle.
Before any other moves could be activated, a burst of speed accompanied its great escape. The newfound momentum carried the new Pokemon out of their reach as it rolled down the aisle faster than any of them could chase.
‘Must be Run Away…’ Lilith assumed, surprised by the sudden speed.
She pulled out her Pokedex and searched for all known Pokemon with Run Away, hoping to spark inspiration and finally identify the strange Pokemon.
“Patrat, no. Lillipup, definitely not…” She read down the list.
“Rattata, no too purple. Eevee, also not the right color…”
“Ah, it was a Dunsparce!” Lilith exclaimed.
The small land snake had finally been revealed. It was an interesting find, logging it in the Pokedex. She created a report as her brain finally started to work once more.
‘I could have just looked at the known Pokemon in the area…’ Lilith facepalmed.
Despite the minor setback, she pulled up the known Pokemon in the given area. It made sense that the list would be much more accurate than other areas, considering how much maintenance went into Virbank’s Complex.
“Dunsparce is rather weak, let's look for something stronger. It says here that some two star Pokemon are in the furthest reaches of this place, and besides, I don't think we could ever catch one of them.” She read off the Pokedex.
Their encounter had been odd. It would be annoying if every Pokemon they found ran away from them.
‘I hope we can get some real battles in before we have to call it a night.’ Lilith thought.
The group started their adventure once more, moving to the back end of the hall. Only the singular Pokemon had been found in the large room, leading them to believe they weren’t looking in the right area. It was an odd contrast, considering it could have housed at least 10 without having to fight to the death every time they met.
The room led to a hallway with lots of glass. They were surrounded by the translucent material on all sides but the floor. The night sky opened up to them once more as the sears peered down at them. Tall grass stood on both sides, making it hard to see what was beyond it. She considered smashing her way into a new direction, but reconsidered. Some ideas were just better to be avoided. While the commotion could attract attention, she had no control over how much.
Many hallways connected to their original path before reattaching to one of the nearby buildings. They decided to stay the course, moving deeper into the Complex for harder battles. The hallway only stopped short after a few hundred meters, coming to a door. It was the first one they had seen in the area thus far. That simple thought got her blood pumping, hoping to find something of epic proportions lost to all until she stood before it.
The group crept up to the anomaly and inspected it. A tap proved the panel to be solid, not allowing anything to be seen. Most usually had a small porthole to see through, unlike the one before her. She would first have to open the door to see what lay beyond.
Curiosity got the best of them. Sableye slowly pushed the door open, revealing a courtyard much bigger than the previous one. Absol got ready for a fight and stepped into the new area while Lilith hung back. Everyone was disappointed when nothing came out to challenge them. The area seemed just as deserted.
At the center of the plaza stood a large ring that emerged from the ground. Decorative marble danced above the small divot the once held water. Due to either Pokemon or time, the stone was well worn. The centerpiece held a Pokemon, but whether it was Magneton, or just many Megnemite, wasn’t clear. That too, was too worn down to tell.
The stone footpath was in better shape, keeping the grass from growing between. On either side, however, the green stalks shot up meters.
What caught their attention was more than dirt and grass, however. Just at the fountain's edge stood a collection of downed vegetation. It lost its lively luster and stood brown and rotting.
It made the perfect lair for a Pokemon.