Cashe spent the next few days on the beach, working with his pokemon to teach them new moves. Ivysaur had Sunny Day more or less figured out, so he moved onto learning Giga Drain and Weather Ball. As a grass type, Ivysaur was able to get the specifics of Giga Drain down without too much trouble. The move was already similar to Leech Seed as it was a drain type move, and it drew on the same grass type energies that Ivysaur worked with for most of his moves, so learning it until he could use it on command only took an afternoon. Becoming proficient enough to use the move in battle was another story, but Cashe was confident that it would not take too long before Ivysaur started to realize his tanky dreams.
Weather Ball was another thing altogether, however. The normal type move was supposed to change types and grow more powerful depending on the weather condition, and Ivysaur was having a lot of trouble with it. Cashe’s current theory was that the angry Alolan sun was making it so that the move was a fire type and not a normal type and therefore more difficult for Ivysaur to use. After an afternoon of zero progress, Cashe decided to put off learning the attack until conditions were better and Ivysaur had a bit more experience.
Hatenna made good progress, now that Cashe was wary of her tricky ways. On more than one occasion, he had to give her a little prod when it looked like she was meditating a little too deeply (sleeping) and he caught her trying to sneak off to play with Goomy several times, but over the course of a few days, and with his close surveillance, she managed to learn Calm Mind. Hatenna was extraordinarily proud of her achievement and used the move whenever someone glanced her way. It was perhaps a waste of energy, but Cashe was happy to let her do so. The extra practice couldn’t hurt, and it had the added benefit of actually calming her down as emotions started to run high, which was getting more and more frequent around Primeape.
Primeape was having trouble.
Perhaps it was her Defiant ability rearing its ugly head, her perceived competition with Lindon’s pokemon, or simply in her nature as a Primeape, but she refused to move on from Sunny Day until she mastered its use. The problem was, she couldn’t.
She had two or three more successes over the course of the next few days, but was unable to get the move to work consistently. Her frustration came to a head on the final afternoon of Cashe’s prescribed rest period. Unable to produce the move on command for the seventh or eighth time in a row, she stomped away from Cashe, ignoring his calls for her to return and flopped down in the shoreline at the water’s edge, letting the waves play over her as she fumed.
Cashe sighed and returned to their towels and umbrellas, ducking into the shade for a moment’s rest.
“Hey, Apollo, where’s Emilia?” Lindon said, joining him in the shade with Goomy a few minutes later.
“She’s at the Pokemon Center,” Cashe said, “She has an appointment.”
“Like you have appointments?” Lindon said.
Cashe nodded and stretched out on the towel, wriggling so the sandy beach would take the shape of his back. He sighed as he forced himself to relax, “I think so.”
“When I’m an adult, will I have special, secret appointments at the Pokemon Center?”
Cashe grinned and shook his head, “I don’t think so. Maybe. Depends on how the next couple of years go for you.” Cashe smiled further at Lindon’s confused expression, “Why are you looking for Emilia? Any chance I can help?”
“I don’t think so,” Lindon said, “I wanted tips for Rain Dance. Goomy keeps going through all the steps and then uses Sunny Day instead.”
“At least she can use Sunny Day,” Cashe said, nodding to the spot where Primeape was fuming, “We’re still having trouble figuring that one out.”
Lindon frowned and plopped down beside Cashe in the shade, “Maybe it's because she’s too angry.”
Cashe snorted. “Her frustration definitely isn’t helping anything.”
Lindon shook his head, “No, because Sunny Day isn’t an angry move.”
Cashe glanced over at his little friend, “What is that supposed to mean? It’s just a move.”
“You know,” Lindon said, “All her favorite moves are angry moves. Cross Chop. Thunder Punch. Lash Out. They all feel super mad about something.”
“What part of a blazing, all encompassing sun isn’t angry?” Cashe said.
“Sunny Day isn’t angry. It’s calm.” Lindon said, “Think about it. What do you think of when it's sunny out?”
Cashe frowned, “Warmth. Heat. Bright light.”
“Those are all still there, it’s a fire type move,” Lindon said, “But like emotionally, what do you think of? I think of fun. Lying in the sun on the beach. Relaxing in the shade. Being with my friends.”
“You think she can’t use Sunny Day well because she has trouble with its emotional state?” Cashe said.
“She can’t use Rage Fist unless she’s really, really mad, right?” Lindon pointed out.
“Huh,” Cashe frowned. Lindon had a point there. If one move was reliant on the emotional state of a pokemon, why not another?
“Encourage your pokemon to channel the power of the sun,” Cashe quoted to himself.
“What’s that?” Lindon said.
“Who wrote this thing?” Cashe grumbled as he checked the pokedex, “I feel like some ancient monk asked to do it and no one was comfortable telling him to put in proper instructions. Every time I look at this damn move another way, something else is revealed. Why didn’t they just write down that emotions might be important? Other moves have step by step instructions for how to teach them to pokemon. Some moves even have different instructions for different pokemon.”
Lindon ignored Cashe’s grumbling, suddenly perking up with an idea of his own, “Maybe I need to tell Goomy to think wet thoughts to learn Rain Dance!” He jumped to his feet and scurried off, “I’m going to go check. Thanks for your help, Apollo!”
Cashe waved to him as he ran off, not sure he did anything to help at all.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
***
Route 3 was a departure from the sunny fields of Route 2. As they left the Pokemon Center behind, stopping by one final time for a Nurse Joy’s approval to leave, the route transitioned from a paved road to a dirt path as they rounded the edge of the island.
The route was deserted, at least in comparison to the fields around the Pokemon Center. Most of the visitors to the area were currently chasing after an injured Ultra Beast and were staying in the area because of it. Only the few trainers who were both too weak to catch a Pheromosa and could recognize that fact were actively venturing down the route.
“Remember what Nurse Joy told you, Apollo,” Lindon warned, “If you feel any symptoms at all you have to call a Poke Ranger right away so you can be brought to a Pokemon Center.”
“Arg, I have a headache right now, actually,” Cashe said, holding his forehead dramatically.
“You do?” Lindon’s eyes went wide and he glanced back at the Pokemon Center that was fading out of sight as they walked, “If we hurry back-”
“It’s coming from this yapping, do you hear that?” Cashe looked around.
Emilia looked at him skeptically, “Yapping?”
“I don’t hear any yapping,” Lindon looked frantically around their surroundings, “Where is it coming from?”
“Oh there it is again,” Cashe said, putting a hand in front of Lindon’s face and touching his thumb to his other four fingers at once in the manner one would when making a hand puppet talk, “Yap, yap , yap.”
Lindon shot him a dirty look, “That’s not funny.” He crossed his arms in a huff and marched several steps ahead of them to show his disapproval.
Emilia smiled, “Not funny at all.”
They walked and chatted as the route moved from the sunny fields to dusty cliffs. The path sloped uphill as the environment rose around them, the long grass changing to dry rocks and jagged ledges that towered above them. Trees and vegetation became scarce, replaced with dust and stones. The route led them right to the water’s edge, only now they were a hundred feet up, staring down the ledge of the cliff and at frothing waves below.
On their left, the blue ocean stretched out as far as the eye could see, and while the route was at least twenty yards wide, and there was no danger of falling, Cashe felt a pronounced sense of trepidation whenever he looked over at the unguarded edge of the cliff.
On their right, a second sheer cliff face stood, though this one towered over them. The rugged surface of the mountain was dense and layered. More than one sign appeared on the route, warning of falling rocks from the movements of the pokemon that lived on top of the cliff or in the many rocky outcroppings that lined the cliff face.
Despite the newfound danger of their environment, the mountainous region of the island had at least one clear benefit: it was in the shade. The air cooled to a comfortable temperature as the sun was hidden by the island for most of the day, and they made good progress, even with the elevation increases.
With the change in environment came a change in pokemon as well. No grasslands and little vegetation meant the timid and weak pokemon of Route 2 had nowhere to hide away. Instead of Rattata and Yungoos there were Mankey, and also Yungoos. Yungoos didn’t mind hiding away in the rocky cliffs, it turned out.
Seeing Mankey in the mountains was a little surprising for Cashe, considering that he found his Mankey in the forest, and he was glad he left Primeape in her pokeball. Mankey had a bad reputation about being territorial, and he wasn’t sure how they might react to a strange Primeape in their midst. He wasn't worried for Primeape, he was more nervous that the resulting brawl might cause a landslide or something.
There were more bird pokemon on the route than there were on the previous one as well. Spearow seemed a constant, but he spotted many Vullaby and Rufflet as well. Emilia frowned as Cashe pointed out the pokemon on the route, slowing and looking at them carefully.
“Thinking of catching one?” Lindon asked, following her gaze to the small nest a Vullaby made on a lower edge of a cliff.
“Yes, actually,” Emilia said, slipping off her backpack and opening it up to search for her pokeballs.
“Was this the pokemon you were planning on catching on this route?” Cashe said.
“No, that one is near the end of the route,” Emilia pulled out several pokeballs, “But this one is good, too.”
“Oh, you have a special plan for Vullaby?” Cashe said.
“Not really,” Emilia met his eyes and grinned, “But it is a hard counter to you.”
Cashe chuckled until he realized she was serious. “You’re planning that far ahead?” He said, “You know I’m not planning on beating you until we face each other at the end of the season in the conference. And even then, I might decide to let you off.”
Emilia smiled, “Like you would have any choice.” She took out Omanyte’s pokeball and let the little creature out of her ball, “And no, I’m not trying to counter you, not really. But Vullaby does answer several questions your team asks. Vullaby can have the ability, Overcoat, which stops half the things Ivysaur wants to do by itself. It’s flying type, which deals with fighting and grass types that Omanyte is weak to very well. It is also dark type, which deals with psychic and ghost types, which are a bit notorious for being hard to counter. Plus, it is a sturdy little pokemon, meaning that it should be able to exhaust the stronger pokemon that Charmeleon might have trouble with taking on one on one. Not to mention it can learn a bunch of very useful utility moves like Taunt, Tailwind, and Knock Off.”
“You considered all of that after I pointed out a Vullaby?” Cashe said.
Lindon eyed Cashe warily, “Maybe I should catch one, too.”
Cashe suppressed a smile. He could see the wheels turning in Lindon’s head as he calculated the best way to beat his pokemon.
“You already have a pretty good matchup into Cashe,” Emilia reminded him, “Once Slowpoke is battle ready, you will have a psychic type to counter both Ivysaur and Primeape. Plus Magneton is a steel type to help deal with Hatenna once she evolves into Hatterene. And don’t think I missed you training Goomy’s ability to be Sap Sipper.”
“You did?” Cashe placed a hand over his heart, “I never thought I would experience the pain of betrayal like this.”
Lindon’s eyes went wide, “It’s just the best ability for her! And you just said I was yapping!” He scowled at Emilia, “That was supposed to be a secret.”
“No secrets from your training partners,” Emilia wagged a finger at him, “Now come on, I need to figure out how to lure that Vullaby down here.”
***
It turned out luring a Vullaby out of its nest was not the most difficult task in the work. Cashe, Emilia, and Lindon snuck along the edge of the cliff, pressing themselves into the rough, stone wall as they tried to remain unseen by the watchful eyes of the Vullaby.
“How did it even get up there?” Cashe whispered as they crept up on it. The nest was only a few dozen yards away now, constructed in the corner of a tiny ledge of rock, “The pokedex says they can’t fly because their wings are too small.”
“Maybe they can jump really high, or glide,” Lindon whispered back, “I think I read that they are also good climbers.”
“Birds can’t be good climbers,” Cashe argued, “What would they use to climb? They have wings!”
“Will you two please be quiet,” Emilia scolded, also whispering, “You’re going to draw its attention.”
As Emilia spoke, the Vullaby in question swiveled its head towards their group, it’s eyes narrowing as it stared at them.
Emilia froze. “Did it see us?” She said, her voice barely audible.
The Vullaby stood from its nest, waddling over to the edge of the small cliff it sat on, its wings spread wide, flapping frantically at them.
“What’s it doing?” Lindon asked, “Is it trying to fly?”
“I think it’s trying to intimidate us,” Cashe said, watching the little bird in a bone diaper stagger back and forth on the edge of the cliff.
“It’s not doing a very good job,” Lindon said.
“Both of you, shut it,” Emilia shushed, “We just have to-”
Vullaby again locked onto Emilia as she spoke, freezing where it stood, arms wings splayed as wide as they could stretch, its total wingspan only about a foot. It squawked out a cry of aggression and hopped forward, jumping straight off the cliff.
*****