Virah looked Nitro in the eyes, "we're leaving two days from now so I want you to learn U-Turn before that," she tells the Beedrill, who nodded in response, "I know that I probably don't have to worry about how fast you'll learn this move but still, it's better to let you know that there's a timeline,"
She and her friends had agreed that after staying in Goldenrod for only a few days, they'd quickly leave and continue on their journey.
There wasn't much to do in the city after all and even Virah, who's now attacking the gangs in the slums with fervor, have considered that the rocket branch there has become too dangerous for her to take on.
So it's better for them to leave two days from now, and Virah was planning on getting Nitro to learn U-Turn before that.
Virah straightened her posture, "I'll start with getting you to feel familiar with the feeling of entering and leaving your Pokeball, does that sound good?"
"Beedrill!" Nitro, as always, had both an energetic and enthusiastic response to his trainer's plans.
Virah smiled fondly, "good," she grabbed one of the Pokeballs hanging from her hip and tossed it in the air, when she caught it, she held out her hand presented the sphere to Nitro, "start,"
The Beedrill slowly flew forward, then he bumped his head on the item's bud, he became a wave of red light that, in Virah's Aura Perception, looked strangely clear and transparent, it was similar to TV static, and she deemed that her theories had been correct.
Move Theory described U-Turn the move's recall effect as the "Pokemon becoming energy" after using it, which barely made sense, especially without proper context but her knowledge on Aura as well as her research on moves allowed her to understand the words in a different way.
Virah re-released Nitro, "Bug Bite, hold it in,"
Before she could start with her testing, she first needed to confirm one last thing.
Virah carefully observed Nitro's glowing form in her Aura Perception as she recalled him, as she expected, the transparent static from the first recall had shifted in color, going from a dull grey into a lush green.
Pokeball recalls carry Type Energy with them, that was something that Virah should have realized from the get go, after all, things like Heavy Balls exist, and those clearly have something more to them than just being a typical Pokeball.
She released Nitro again, humming, "how did it feel Nitro?"
Nitro scratched his head, "Beedrill?"
"Itchy huh?.." Virah nodded, that was another thing she just confirmed, "okay, now I want you to use Electroweb but this time hold it in,"
Nitro slowly nodded, seemingly understanding what Virah was trying to do, "… Beedrill," her started replied with a bit of apprehension.
"You'll be fine," Virah smiled in reassurance, "my research tells me this'll only be a bit of numbing,"
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Nitro nodded and used Electro Web, once his frame was packed with Electric Type Energy, Virah recalled him and waited for a few seconds before releasing him.
"Are you doing okay?" She asked.
Nitro rubbed his arms with his drills, "Beedrill,"
"Yeah, I get that," Virah nodded, "but like I said, it's only numbing right?"
Nitro nodded, Virah smiled. The poison specialist rubbed the Pokeball between her fingers, there was a bit of static coming off of the item just now, which explains why catching Pokemon was so hard, they could literally ruin a Pokeball from the inside out using Type Energy from an unused move before capture.
Watching out for a Pokemon's Aura may prove useful for when she needed to capture one in the near future.
"Alright Nitro, one last test, I want you to use Harden for as long as you could," she explained, "after that I'll capture you,"
The song and dance repeated, with Virah waiting until her Beedrill's form in her Aura Perception became thick with Normal Type Energy from using Harden, and once she recalled him, the last of her theories were confirmed to be true.
The stream of energy that Nitro turned into became thicker and took a few seconds longer than when he was using Bug and Electric Type moves.
And while she hasn't timed anything just yet, she knew from basic observation that his recall was faster when he wasn't using moves than when he was; a rather basic, and downright obvious conclusion.
So why was Normal Type Energy turning Nitro's "energy form" thicker? Why were Bug and Electric faster? Those were the questions Virah wrote down as she checked her previous theories.
'Electrical currents run smoother and Bug Type moves have smaller energy output,' Virah wrote down her latest theory as for why that was the case, 'that or is it conceptual?' Virah underlined the word "conceptual" thrice for emphasis, 'Bugs are small and Electricity runs across almost any gap regardless of size,'
Virah bit the bud of her pen, 'Maybe the answer is both?'
Virah wrote down the word 'U-Turn' at the very bottom of the page.
'And if this is the case… then wouldn't that mean that there's a move like U-Turn for Water and Electric Types too? Where are they?' She silently asked while writing down the words, 'Electric and Water Type Pivot Moves.'
'Dark Types also have the same themes don't they?' Virah theorized, she wrote down the same question she did for the other theorithical pivot moves.
With her questions now written down, Virah released Nitro and nodded at the Beedrill, "how did it feel?"
"Beedrill." Nitro drawled.
"I expected that, so are your muscle cramps actually real or are they just phantom feelings?" A more "solid" energy form would lead to a more claustrophobic Pokeball, that was now confirmed, Virah put a checkmark next to the question.
"Beedrill," Nitro moved his arm as an example and the Beedrill visibly winced.
"So it's real?" Virah asked, interest now present within her tone, "so there's a state between Solid and Energy," Virah nodded, "okay, okay, that's what we're going to test out,"
Virah wrote a few more things on the pages of her notebook as she let her starter rest, once she was done, she looked at Nitro.
He was currently munching on the sitrus berries Jet brought from the forest for his continued precision training for his echo location, and speaking of the Zubat, Jet was getting better at identifying things, which was a good sign.
Back to Nitro however, Virah looked at her Beedrill, she hummed, he was part Bug Type, which meant that he would have an affinity for U-Turn, and his prodigious ability to learn should allow him to use the move in a days time…
Virah stood up, "okay Nitro, I need more data for this move," the Beedrill stopped eating and looked at her, "which means we'll have to time your usage of Bug Bite before I recall you, starting with 5 seconds,"
Virah activated her Aura Perception and clapped, "let's get started!"
Nitro flew towards her the moment Virah announced the start of testing and for the next dozen minutes, the Beedrill did as told without complaint, he gave Virah all the information she needed about how the itching from the longer time between recalls felt and eventually, the testing stopped.
"Okay, so I think I have a pretty decent sheet on how the recall interacts with Type Energy," Virah looked at Nitro, "you said your itching right now feels like you've been bitten by insects right?"
Nitro slowly nodded, Virah smiled, "it's clear that Type Energy influences other energy forms, such as Pokemon becoming light for example," she explained, "but it seems that the effects depend on the "data" that comes with the energy,"
Virah hummed, knowing that someone designed this type of system assured her that at some point, there would be an end to her questions but for now, she settled with her current conclusions.
"Bugs are naturally known to bite, so itching is the feeling that follows their Type Energy, that or discomfort if you're scared of them," Virah further elaborated, "and since they're considered to be "small" and weak, I have a theory that their Type Energy requires a "swarm" to become physical,"
Virah looked at Nitro, "all of that is to say that you're just going to need to build up a bit of Bug Type Energy before I recall you and then get used to it," Virah smiled grimly, "this'll be itchy Nitro, and your Bug Type moves will most likely weaken if it goes wrong but I'm sure you can do it,"
Nitro nodded, "Beedrill.".
With her Pokemon's words being full of conviction, Virah couldn't help but think that the Beedrill could actually do it, "good luck,"
Virah held the Pokeball in her hand with anticipation, she waited for the lush green in Nitro's form to become a rich emerald before recalling him and after that, she attached the Pokeball to her belt and opened her notebook.
Right next to her, a Pokedex with a timer sat, the research function of the device proving useful.