Once ten minutes passed, Jerry picked two students for the first battle, with me not being one of the selected for the first match, I returned Zigzagoon to his pokeball and went with the others to stand of the sidelines of the arena to watch the coming battle.
With Jerry standing by the center of the arena, both trainers faced each other with a pokeball on hand, “This battle is a 1v1, students send out your pokemon”.
The first to send his pokemon is Colton Smith, a short kid with strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes, next to him appears a Patrat, who quietly stands on two feet looking out for his opponent to appear. I think the name of the second student is Ayumi, a slim shorthaired girl with Asian features, in front of her appear a silly looking Bidoof, who cutely looks around somewhat confused.
With my pokedex on hand I check both pokemon for their information:“Patrat, this rodent-like Pokemon resembles a chipmunk and is mostly brown with a tan stomach and face. Its cheek pouches are used to store food, allowing it to keep watch for days. It is extremely cautious and maintains a constant lookout of its surroundings, taking shifts with others of its kind. However, it has a blind spot and won't notice a foe coming from behind. Its tail is used for communication, standing up straight when it spots an enemy. Patrat is always on guard and very conscious of its surroundings.”
“Bidoof, the beaver-like Pokémon, is known for its nerves of steel and remarkable agility. Despite its appearance, Bidoof is highly active and constantly on the move. It can usually be found living in groups near water sources. Bidoof has strong, sharp incisors that grow constantly, and it gnaws on rocks and logs to keep them ground down. These incisors are used not only for chewing, but also for defending against predators. Its tufted tail and face markings are cream-colored, and it has black paws with three toes and webbing.”
“Whoever makes the opponent’s pokemon faint first will be considered the winner, begin!”, Jerry explains while using his arm to signal the beginning of the battle.
At the same time both trainers shout their commands, “Bidoof, Rollout!”, “Patrat, take it head on with Bide!”.
Bidoof quickly curls itself into a ball and starts rolling towards its opponent, Patrat stands still but begins to emit a white glow all around its body.
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To me, it looks like Colton is gambling with Patrat endurance, if his pokemon can take 2 or 3 hits from Bidoof’s Rollout he is guaranteed to win, but that is a big ask from an untrained pokemon.
The first hit from Rollout is the weakest and Patrat receives the attack head on, by its expression the small creature doesn’t look like it took a lot of damage. Bidoof gains more speed as it rolls away preparing its second hit, while the glow from Patrat’s body gets stronger. The second hit seems to cause some pain to Patrat, who stands still as its opponent rolls away for the second time.
I look at both my classmates on the arena, they look confident, they made the decision to end the battle with one move each, would I have made the same choice?
The third hit sends Patrat back, making the rodent fall into the ground but the clearly stronger white glow on its body is still there, as Bidoof rolls away, Patrat stands back up and unleashes the energy gathered through Bide towards its opponent, who receives the hit from behind and is thrown back from the impact, it fainted on the spot.
“Bidoof is unable to continue, Patrat and Colton Smith win the battle”, Ayumi returns Bidoof and I notice her whisper a thank you to the pokeball, on the other side, Colton runs towards Patrat and picks it up, it’s clear the small creature is tired as it faints on his trainer’s arms.
Jerry walks towards the center of the arena while sending Colton and Ayumi to the sidelines next to us, “I want you all to think about that battle, what did you think? Do you agree with the decisions made by your classmates? Imagining yourselves in the same position as other trainers is a great exercise to improve your own tactics.”
“For example, if I was in command of Bidoof, I would have asked him to stop Rollout as soon as Bide was used by Patrat, before it had a chance to cause any damage to its opponent, forcing it to waste its energy without being able to gather more power, I would have waited Bide out while using a non-damaging move such as growl, reducing further its opponent attack. You should know that Bidoof as a species have only one advantage over Patrat, their resilience, Bidoof speed and power aren’t enough to quickly finish off opponents at the same level, even using a move such as Rollout, you should try a more defensive approach, forcing a close confrontation against its opponents.”
“Meanwhile, Patrat should only use Bide just before being hit, if it’s used like in the previous battle announcing the move with enough time for opponents to prepare, they can choose to wait Bide out while using non damaging moves, Bide is a very energy intensive move for a low level pokemon, meaning it would tire Patrat without managing to cause any damage to their opponents. Of course, I know you are just starting your education and this you will learn with time and experience, so no need to feel down.”
“There are some even more advanced elements you would have noticed with more experience under your belt, for instance, the nature of both pokemon, Patrat came out and stood on its two feet while watchful of its surroundings, while Bidoof looked confused as it appeared on the field, these may look like small details but they mean something to experienced trainers, but I’m going into more detail than necessary, as you will not be learning about natures yet, sorry.”
And finishing with that, Jerry picks the next two students to battle while leaving us to consider his words. I know there is more to battles than shouting moves, but with his explanation I begin to see just how much information you need to know and understand to be a successful trainer.