I was totally not pouting still when Ivy turned around across the field from me. I wasn’t! I wasn’t lame! I was so cool! I had a cool nickname and everything!

“I’m sorry I called you lame… Now can we focus on the training?” Ivy asked, and I definitely didn’t pout at her even harder.

She sighed and rolled her eyes which of course meant everything she was about to say was a lie!

“You are very cool and impressive. Totally amazing. I accept your challenge.”

“Fine. I guess I’ll let you train with such a lame person.” I agreed not being passive aggressive at all. Definitely.

“Go! Fomantis!” Ivy started and the Fomantis looked around sleepily for a moment before seeing Ivy and instead of readying for battle, it wandered over to her and climbed up onto her foot.

My desire to call Ivy lame was there, but honestly I couldn’t say it, because Fomantis was obviously really in love with Ivy and that was cute.

“Umm… Maybe a different one!”

“Just release all of them and find one willing to battle!” I called out, and she nodded suddenly releasing all of her Fomantis…

Which all wandered over and seemed happy enough to climb up onto Ivy’s feet. I burst into laughter because it was so cute!

“It’s not funny.” Ivy whined but she didn’t really do anything to stop it, instead crouching down and petting the Fomantis getting their attention. “Do any of you want to battle for me?”

The Fomantis all seemed to sort of preen at Ivy’s attention, but didn’t show much interest. Ivy’s shoulders slumped.

Then one of them seemed to notice. I think it was the first Fomantis Ivy captured. Because each of them had been pruned and taken care of by Ivy but this one had the most attention given to it. The most elaborate change to her flower head.

“Fo! Fomantis. Foooo!” It cheered and jumped off her shoe.

“Oh! Fomantis! You want to battle with me?”

“Fo!” It agreed, and Ivy looked a little teary eyed as she nodded firmly.

“Can the rest of you move back a bit?” She told her little bundle of flowers who did so, moving behind her, and then just seeming to find a sunny spot and falling asleep.

I nodded then considered what to do. Goomy were out. They hadn’t agreed to battle or train with me yet. Gible… Probably wasn’t a great idea to start out with.

That only left! “Okay Mimikyu! Time to get some practice in!” I called and pointed and from my shoulder Mimikyu leapt off to land in front of me.

“Kkukuku!” He cheered and Ivy nodded.

“Are you ready then?” She asked and I was about to nod before stopping.

“Ah… I don’t actually know all of Mimikyu’s moves.” I called out and Ivy twitched as well.

So neither of us actually figured that out.

“Quick break!” I called and she nodded so I hurried over to Mimikyu and knelt down.

“Okay let’s go over all your moves okay?”

“Kukuku!” He nodded and I smiled as I pointed off to the side. “Shadow Claw!” And then a claw of Shadows slipped out and ripped into the earth.

“Cool! Okay You probably know Wood Hammer, right?”

“Kukuk!” He did, so I had him show me that. He leapt and spun slamming his ‘tail’ into the earth. It did a little indent into the grass where it hit. Very strong. Super strong.

But then Mimikyu cried out a bit as he staggered back before righting himself.

Wait… “Wood hammer is a recoil move!” I remembered, shocked at forgetting that! “Chansey!” I called out, quickly throwing out her pokeball and she appeared beside me looking around and not seeing anything wrong.

“Chansey?”

“Mimikyu used a move that does recoil damage. Can you check him over please!” I asked desperately and Chansey nodded, patted me on the head and quickly using a heal pulse on Mimikyu.

“Kukuku! Kuku?” I calmed down, because Mimikyu was confused, and I didn’t want him to think he did something wrong.

“It was really cool! Look how strong it was!” I assured him as I picked him up. “I just have a rule not to use Recoil moves on my team. I don’t like you guys hurting yourself just to do a bit more damage.” I explained and pet him on the head so he can be sure. “So for now. No Wood Hammer. Okay? We’ll train a way to use it later, as it’s a good grass type attack. Maybe we can reduce the damage to remove the recoil or something. Wood Club? Something like that.” I said and Mimikyu sort of tilted his head.

Yeah, the idea of not sacrificing himself probably didn’t make much sense. Pokemon were usually pretty quick to accept damage to attack. They loved battling after all.

“Don’t worry. We’ll work on it. Let’s see, what other attacks do you have?” I asked and Mimikyu perked up as he showed off. Scratch, Astonish. These were good moves. Then Mimikyu showed off Shadow Sneak, and I was super happy to see that.

Shadow sneak basically extended a shadow from Mimikyu's shadow that stretched out and attacked a pokemon.

The reason it was so good despite being low damage?

It was a priority move! Just like Quick attack, or Extreme Speed.

It meant that with some training Mimikyu would be able to outspeed other pokemon just like the rest of my team!

I nodded. That was a good step.

“Next move?” I asked and he sort of wiggled as he wasn’t sure what to do. Then he looked over to Chansey and called out.

“Kukuku?”

“Chanse? Chansey!” She agreed to his question and then She released a Heal Pulse.

I blinked wondering what was going on and then Mimikyu nodded at Chansey and…

Released a Heal Pulse.

I blinked he looked up at me, definitely hoping for a positive reaction.

Which I gave him!

“Copycat! You have Copycat! That’s amazing!” I cheered as I lifted him up and spun him around. Earning a wiggly motion as he made sure his disguise was covering his bottom. “Mimikyu! Copycat is a really good move! It’s a great way to turn some enemies' moves against them! That’s cool!” I cheered and Mimikyu looked really happy as his shadow arms flowed around him as if he wasn’t sure what to do.

So I hugged him to my chest.

“Hehe! You are going to be so strong!”

“Kukuku!”

—--

“Okay ready?” I called and Ivy nodded, her Fomantis looking towards Mimikyu.

“Begin!” I called out, and Ivy reacted first.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Leafage!”

“Astonish!”

Mimikyu disappeared even as the Leafage rose up from around Fomantis.

Then he re-appeared right in her face with a cry. “KUKUUKU!” And it blasted into Fomantis with ghost energy.

But then Leafage blasted into Mimikyu’s face.

Fomantis kind of flinched but her reaction was to scream and hit Mimikyu with everything.

Kinda cute.

“Fo! Leafage again! Make it so Mimikyu can’t get close!”

The little grass type listened despite freaking out from Mimikyu’s Astonish as she used Leafage again and again to surround herself in leaves like a shield.

“Mimikyu! Don’t get close! We won’t play their game! Copycat! Blast their own Leafage with your own!” I called and Ivy jerked to look at me with a glare.

A moment later a war of leaves broke out as the two attacks slammed into each other over and over.

“Dangit Vicky!” Ivy yelled at me, and I just laughed.

Ivy’s Fomantis also had two other moves. Growth, and Ingrain. Both of which Copycat could now copy if she used them.

And Fomantis wasn’t very strong. So it only had Leafage and its weak Solar Beam, which only really worked if they had a lot of time to gather up light.

Wild Pokemon could be very strong, but they often weren’t. Even Mimikyu was super weak compared to my normal team.

But only for now. The first step was to practice! Give them some experience.

“Okay! Mimikyu! We are switching moves. Shadow Sneak!”

“Ingrain!” Ivy called out in turn. Our eyes had met, and I had conveyed that I wasn’t going to let the battle end right there.

This wasn’t about winning after all, but about getting our pokemon experience.

A moment later a shadow behind Fomantis rose up and struck her, causing her to cry out, but not move, because she had dug in her roots and was locked tight.

I looked on. Fomantis now had a shield of Leafage, and was healing every turn. Even if the shield had been damaged. This was a good setup for Ivy.

“Prepare it!” She called out, and I blinked because I wasn’t sure what it was.

Sneaky Ivy!

“Mimikyu! They are being sneaky. So be sneaky right back. Copy cat!”

Only it failed.

I blinked. As Mimikyu looked to me and shrugged.

Wait… “Fomantis has no idea what you mean! That was just you wasting time so Fomantis could heal up!”

“Hehe!” Ivy offered and I scoffed at the audacity of this bitch!

“Shadow Claw!”

“Leafage!”

The two pokemon went at it, but Shadow Claw was much stronger than Astonish, and Mimikyu sliced through the leaves until it reached Fomantis and slammed into her.

She slumped and Ivy and I both waited to see, but she just released a dizzy noise as she rocked around.

“I think that’s it.” I called and Ivy nodded. “Chansey!”

“Chanse!” She chirped as she walked over and healed up both pokemon as I walked over to Ivy.

“That was sneaky.”

“You’re the sneaky one! Mimikyu is pretty strong.”

“I can’t wait until your Fomantis evolves though. Lurantis has some amazing moves.”

“Lurantis? What’s it like?” Ivy asked, and I shrugged.

“Big. Pretty! It kinda looks like a bug type, but it’s pure grass. So that’s gonna trick some people. It’s got a special move too. Solar Blade.”

“Solar… Blade?” Ivy asked and I nodded.

“Think Solar Beam, same mechanic of needing to charge it up, but instead it’s a more physical attack, a blade.” I said, making a wooshing noise as if the end of my hand had a sword. “It’s really cool. Solar Blade is super strong, and easily top 10 coolest looking moves. It’s a lightsaber!”

Ivy just sort of nodded at my explanation. “That does sound amazing… I’ve never heard of it before.”

“It’s Lurantis’s iconic move. A few other pokemon can learn it, but not many. Not even many other grass types. I think… Lilligant can learn it!” I tapped a fist into my palm as I remembered another pokemon that could get it.

“What’s a Lilligant?”

“Just another grass type… They used to be in Hisui… I don’t think they are in Sinnoh anymore though, I thought they were here in Kitakami though?” I muttered trying to remember.

It was kind of weird that one of the big Hisui Pokemon didn't exist in modern Sinnoh. Lilligant, either version wasn’t in Sinnoh anymore, but I had thought that Liligant did exist in Kitakami.

Even if Petilil was an Unova Pokemon… Why were they in ancient Hisui then? There was no way Unova had any connection to Hisui!

“Ugh.” I ran my fingers through my hair.

“Vicky?”

“Pokemon migration factors over the centuries is really weird Ivy. But good news! There might be Petilil or Lilligant here in Kitakami. We just need to check around some more… Maybe on the other side of the mountain? If the Fomantis all live here, then maybe the Petilil live on the other side so they don’t fight?”

“Let’s check!” Ivy demanded looking fired up at the idea of another grass type.

“Grass obsessed.” I teased and she gave me a look telling me she was going to stuff grass in my mouth if I kept it up.

“Right! C’mon Dragonite! We need a ride to the other side of the mountain!”

“Pree! Drag!” She agreed, stretching out.

Ivy returned everyone and Mimikyu slipped back into my hat. Training day canceled for more pokemon hunting!

—---

We ended up flying over the town which I don’t think even noticed our passage, but nothing was really happening so I just appreciated it for its rustic charm, before we flew over the apple orchards and then into the wilderness beyond the zone Mossui town had made for itself.

There we landed to get a look from the ground. Returning Dragonite, Ivy and I walked along the planes and light groves of trees to see what we could find.

Ivy spotted something first before sighing. A pair of Sewaddle making themselves clothes in a tree.

“You don’t want to say hello?” I asked and she puffed up a bit and shook it off.

“I think one is enough.” She muttered, reaching at the leaves that were sewn into her coveralls.

I just giggled at her and waved at them as we passed, one of them cutely waving back.

I loved pokemon!

We moved on, seeing a few herds and packs of different pokemon on the plains, but because of the clearer view we saw them quickly run off once they noticed us.

It was kind of a relief, because I didn’t want to beat up a bunch of pups again.

I guess out here, there was more human interaction even if it wasn’t part of Mossui anymore.

Ivy and I ran around, exploring. Both of us had a good time laying on our stomachs as we watched a pack of Furret running around a tree not far from us playing a game. Both of us struggled to keep from giggling at the adorable pokemon.

But neither of us made a move to try and capture one. “Too bad it isn’t a grass type.” I told Ivy as we finally started rising back up and she missed the elbow that she sent at me, making me giggle and run away leading into a game of tag.

Which Ivy failed completely.

Ivy might have longer legs, but her endurance wasn’t nearly as good.

“Mwahaha! Ivy, you need more exercise!”

“That's!... Not!... Fair!” She gasped as she grabbed her knees.

I just giggled at her, until she caught her breath enough to keep going.

We both were just wandering around when we heard it. The noise of a pokemon battle.

I was off before Ivy could register what it was. The crashing noise of moves blasting terrain urged me on, and I ran to find it. I could see the dust coming from ahead of me, a copse of trees hiding whatever was going on inside.

“Vicky, wait!”

Ivy was falling behind, so I threw out a pokeball. “Arc!” Arcanine called out and then looked on in confusion as I just ran right past her.

“Pick up Ivy!” I yelled as I kept going. Legs pumping. The thought of slowing down to ride Arcanine didn’t even register.

Then I hit the trees and I could see what was up.

A Staraptor was fighting a group of Seedot, with a Shiftry at its head.

Unfortunately I think the Starapter had the advantage here.

The group were working together using whatever moves they could, but barely any of them hit, and Staraptor was overwhelming them.

“Vicky!” I turned to see Ivy riding Arcanine arrive beside me and I pointed.

She took it in, and within a second her decision was made.

“Arcanine! Flamethower on the bird!” She called out and I looked over… My eyes met with Arcanine.

And then flamethrower happened, because in that one look I understood.

On one hand was Arcanines loyalty to me. On the other was the chance for a battle.

And one side instantly won.

“You traitor!” I called out as Arcanine burst forth Ivy still riding and blew a blast of flames at the Staraptor. I could just sigh and face palm as Ivy led Arcanine into a short battle before the Staraptor realized how outmatched it was and fled full speed into the sky.

“Yeah! Take that! Don’t pick on grass types!” Ivy yelled out at the sky, and I just rolled my eyes. So she says while stealing my fire type!

Then she leapt off, and rushed to the Seedot, and scratched up but still defensive Shiftry.

I didn’t get involved though. This was Ivy’s specialty, and more importantly. If she thought she could calm them and help then she could do it. If she failed she failed. But she should still have the chance to try. So I walked over to the preening Arcanine.

Her fur was all fluffed up as she sat looking proud of herself not looking at anyone but just letting her fluff shift in the light breeze.

Which is why I instantly grabbed the deadly weapon.

*Squirt.*

“Yooooowl!” She cried as I squirted her right on the nose. She leapt back falling completely onto her back and trying to fend me off as I squirted her again.

She acted like I was murdering her when I did this which made the next part even funnier.

Once she was properly chastised, I adjusted the nozzle and then squired off to the side of her head.

Three squirts and she had forgotten all about pretending I was murdering her and she was attacking the stream. Chomping down on each squirt.

“Vicky?”

“Nah I’m good. Just let me know if you need anything!” I called out barely looking away from Arcanine attacking the evil streams of water that were shooting past her head.

Once the bottle was empty I put it back into my bag, earning a whine from Arcanine as she wanted to play more.

“Nope.” I denied her and that probably did more to punish her than the initial water bottle sneak attack.

She squirmed around playfully but I just looked down at her arms crossed and she huffed as she laid back still for a minute as she realized the worst thing ever happened. Playtime ended.

I rolled my eyes at her reaction and instead reached out to poke her back paw. Playing with the fluff between her toes causing her to kick as I tickled her. “Traitor.” I taunted her and she whined at my teasing.

Then I looked over at Ivy who had somehow convinced the Shiftry to trust her, as she used Potions to heal up the pokemon. The Seedot were jumping around her, and two Nuzleaf were keeping an eye on me and Arcanine as Shiftry watched Ivy closely.

I just waved at the Nuzleaf and returned to poking at Arcanine. This situation was already fully under control and I could already see how it was going.

Ivy was going to walk away with another Grass type.

I almost giggled, but I held it in.

“Seed! Seedot, Seed!” The little Seedot demanded as Ivy stood up, having healed everyone up. The Shiftry jolted but eventually it huffed in irritation and nodded.

The Seedot then went to Ivy, and Ivy offered it a pokeball.

The whole situation was really sweet.

“Alright girl. Time for us to go.” I told Arcanine who finally rolled back onto her paws and shook the leaves and dirt off her coat.

“Arc!” She called out happily dancing around me a little as Ivy walked away from the Shiftry waving goodbye at them.

We both left the little copse of trees and headed back into the plains.

Only once we were far away did I speak. “Grass type obsessed.” I told her and started running as she flailed at me. I cackled as she chased me again.